Hmm, we should add an action or two to improve relations each turn or something? Not sure! When was the last renegotiation with Khimir? Or have we not had the first and we'll at the end of Treaty One?
Congratulations, plan makers: We all get 10 freefloating points to allocate how we see fit.
AFAIK we don't know enough to say what the specific aims of any given subfaction are or figure out how to play them off each other, which is what my criteria for "much about their internal politics" are. If we start infiltrating them more and gain more information I'll put it in.
Their internal polities are 'stereotypical barbarian horde', they can and will kill each other at the drop of a hat for any and all reasons as long as they think they are stronger than the other party. There are powerful chaos warlords out there, but none of them are conceptually higher on the political hierarchy than the other in anything beside the favor of the Gods. I think the craftsworlders would be able to tell us that much, if not the details, inside a few seconds.
Their internal polities are 'stereotypical barbarian horde', they can and will kill each other at the drop of a hat for any and all reasons as long as they think they are stronger than the other party. There are powerful chaos warlords out there, but none of them are conceptually higher on the political hierarchy than the other in anything beside the favor of the Gods. I think the craftsworlders would be able to tell us that much, if not the details, inside a few seconds.
...that's still internal politics, you realize? Knowing who's stronger and weaker at the moment, which Chaos God has which patch of turf and the latest stupid beefs between their followers, etc, etc?
Also, it costs SO many points, but I want to fit this in *somewhere*.
Khimer Genetic Damage: The Khimer were asking for assistance. Apparently, some of the augmentations they had installed so long ago severely reduced lifespan. While they had developed a number of tools to try and solve this, none of them were wholly effective or easily scaled up. They wanted assistance researching a means to undo some of the damage these augmentations had caused, which should hopefully allow them to live longer than thirty years without technological assistance, allowing them to more easily build institutional knowledge. 0/50, costs 2 BioData, unaltered Khimer lifespan increased by decade, increasing respect by 2.
Like, extending their life by a decade is huge, not in terms of Respect (it only slightly increases it) but in terms of, like. Making people's lives better?
...that's still internal politics, you realize? Knowing who's stronger and weaker at the moment, which Chaos God has which patch of turf and the latest stupid beefs between their followers, etc, etc?
That is more detailed internal politics, but knowing the general shape of their politics is still useful. Like if someone says 'France is a representative democracy' that still tells you something about how France works, even if you do not know the names and positions of any of the parties or their leaders.
Hmm, we should add an action or two to improve relations each turn or something? Not sure! When was the last renegotiation with Khimir? Or have we not had the first and we'll at the end of Treaty One?
I think having a turn in the timeskip just focused on our allies would be helpful/worh it but we are in a timeskip so I don't think if it a huge deal if we igrone them for 3 turns like it would in a regular turn.
[X] Plan: The World Revolving
-[X] Fleet Actions
--[X] TKK Resistance
---[X] ENEMY UNKNOWN (1)
--[X] TKK Valiant
---[X] Drydock (1)
--[X] TKK Endeavor-B
---[X] H'kann Security
---[X] ENEMY UNKNOWN (2)
--[X] TKK Spirit of Toxel
---[X] Flying Saucer Mediation
---[X] ENEMY UNKNOWN (3)
--[X] TKK Accomplishment
---[X] Drydock (3)
--[X] TKK Discovery
---[X] Drydock (4)
--[X] TKK Delivery
---[X] Flying Saucer Peace Mission
--[X] TKK Emissary
---[X] Green Giant First Contact
-[X] EXP 146/146
--[X] Construct Pioneer Class Ship (0/20 --> 40/20)
---[X] Yr Albain
---[X] Bioship
--[X] Cursite Purification Facilities (0/25 --> 25/25) Naklis gains Cursite Purification Facilities, increasing EXP and Warp by 1.
--[X] Cyberbrain Cortexical Stack: (0/25 --> 25/25), Cyberbrains gain advanced physics engines, increasing ACD. Cost 1 Network.
--[X] Cyberbrain Quantum Lobe: (0/25 --> 25/25), Cyberbrains gain hard-drive, increasing ACD. Cost 1 Network.
--[X] New Dawn Decode (0/25 --> 6/25)
--[X] Lumium Chip Factory: (0/25 --> 25/25), gain Lumium Chip factories, increasing CUL and NT. Cost 1 NK.
-[X] CUL 110/110
--[X] Yr Albain War Coordination: (0/25 --> 25/25), begin coordinating intelligence with Yr Albain and sharing information learned about Destroyers and other hostile powers. Unlock additional War Coordination actions. Cost 1 Intel.
--[X] Winterspite Hunting Resort (0/15 --> 15/15) increases Winterspite reputation by 5.
--[X] AutoSecurisprites: (0/25 --> 25/25), Autons gain Securisprite Executables, allowing their admins to summon security programs to defend against network breaches and malware, increasing Auton rep by 5.
--[X] Imperial Dossier: (0/25 --> 20+5 (Tombdelvers) /25), gain 1 Intel, a CUL resource used in espionage and intelligence work.
--[X] Life4Gunz: (0/25 --> 25/25), gain Auton Arms, raise Auton reputation by 5. Cost 1 Warp.
-[X] FTH 116/116
--[X] Psi-Mummification: (0/25 --> 25/25), gain Psy-Mummification, increasing Yr Albain reputation by 2. In exchange, gain information and potentially a new diplomatic contact. Cost 1 Warp.
--[X] HexTek Talismans: (0/25 --> 25/25), increases FTH and grants 3 Warp.
--[X] .ARCHON (GriMM.EXE): (3/15 --> 15/15), develop .ARCHON (GriMM.EXE), increasing FTH and increasing Rite performance. Cost 1 Network. What.
--[X] .ARCHON (QUESTBRO): (10/15 --> 15/15), develop .ARCHON (QUESTBRO), increasing CUL and improving survivability during hazardous events. Cost 1 Network.
--[X] New Dawn Decode: (6/25 --> 14/25)
--[X] Curse of Darktide: (8/25 --> 19+6 (Admiralty) /25), cost 1 Warp, gain Rite of Darktide.
--[X] Huntek Workshop (0/10 --> 10/10) establishes Huntek Workshop, increasing ACD and improving the gear of the Huntsmasters.
--[X] Hunter Shrine: (0/10 --> 10/10), establishes Hunters Shrine, increasing FTH.
--[X] Rites of the Huntsmaster: (0/10 --> 10/10), grants Least Divine Rites of the Huntsmaster. Unknown Effects. -1 WRP
-[X] ACD 95/95
--[X] Sandscorn Mangrove Swamp Desalination: (0/25 --> 25/25), Sandscorn gains Mangrove Spawning Pools, allowing them to deploy more Engineers and desalinate the environment.
--[X] OmniWrench AutoHack Add-On: (0/15 --> 15/15), upgrades Engineer ability to subvert machines.
--[X] Organocide Engine Studies: (0/25 --> 25/25) gain Dataurgic Engines, increasing both ACD and NT by 2.
--[X] New Dawn Decode: (14/25 --> 25/25)
--[X] Sacred Code: (6/25 --> 25/25), create Spirit Code, increasing CUL and all synthetic intelligence performance. Cost 1 Network.
-[X] Resource Management
--[X] Artifacts: 3
--[X] Biodata: 6
--[X] Intel: 0
--[X] Living Metal: 3
--[X] Network: 5 --> 3
--[X] Nuclear Material: 4 --> 3
--[X] Warp: 0
((((()))))
"I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him."
((((()))))
Stardate 4321.0512, Captains Log of TNDI of the Starship Resistance
We didn't find XCOM, but we've sure found something. Another Imperial System, SEVERAL systems out from Sandscorn. A few lightly inhabited planets that seem to be used to meet the manufacturing and part of the agricultural needs of the system: the real world of note is the first from the sun, ironically NOT in the habitable band. Long distance observation shows multiple signs of what appear to be major ecumenopoli, the Imperial equivalent to an Arcolocube. From what I can crossreference with Dossier K-198, this is probably what's called a Hive World, one that uses some form of climate control technology to remain liveable despite the fiery nature outside it.
From the various radio and other broadcast signals we could pick up, it's apparently known as Volcanus 9: the exact role it plays in Imperial power in the region is…questionable, and as such I would advise the Directorate to begin observation attempts to collect information, though the planet does receive enough ship traffic that I would advise extreme caution.
Discovered Volcanus 9, an Imperial Hiveworld three systems north and two west of Sandscorn.
((((()))))
Stardate 4325.0927, Captains Log of Wurf of the Starship Discovery
We have just barely prevented another disaster. A major assassination attempt that would have spelled war. Thankfully, our enemies have successfully revealed themselves, helping to discredit the movement they were trying t' support.
It appears one of the gitz the toothgrimm have working for them are a species of body jacking sentient parasitoids: a spy ring of these gitz that had infested th' H'kann 'ad assassinated a major counsel member of the H'kek that 'ad been part o' the peace movement, while a buncha of these nasty lil greebles that were in the H'kek tried to rally em fer war.
The goal was t' start another war in which th' pair would start ravagin' each other again, first by the H'kek invading H'kann worlds, then…I dunno. Presumably they were gonna give the H'kann somethin' to help wreck the H'kek, or else they were hoping the H'kek would break themselves takin' us down for the H'kann to rally. Fink th' gitz were even tryin' to capture a few blokes from the Fleet to body-jack: we're doin' full medisweeps now though, so if they did, they can look forward to livin' in a vegetable in Tartustus once we remove em surgically.
Biologically the things are weird: they're sorta like slugs mixed wif spiders, but all jelly-like and covered in eyes. They crawl through the nose science team says t' enter the brain, where all the jelly and legs sorta ooze their way across it t' hijack use of the limbic system. Doesn't work on Grotts though: th' Mojo meant that the whole time I had one in me skull every last git on the ship could tell somefin was wrong, an' it made it easier for me t' resist its control. Only reason they got caught.
Thankfully, in spite o' their efforts, the peace efforts are goin' well. The H'kann are still rebuilding their fleet: they've tentatively opened talks with the H'kek about buying some smaller vessels in exchange for them helpin' manufacture medicine, and the H'kann are apparently workin' on using the margins we bought em to develop their industrial tek. Dunno if that's gonna go through or not, but th' fact it's even on the table? Very good sign. Big victory for the Directorate too, since us stoppin' them an' revealin' that the Dark Ones have gitz in their midst manipulatin' em makes us look like th' big heroes of the hour. Just bought ourselves a lot of credit here.
And more importantly, it looks like we got a lead on huntin down Toothgrimm.
Successfully thwarted anti-peace activity by the Cerebreojellies, another Toothgrim Catspaw that parasitically hijack bodies, gaining +5 bonus H'k reputation and strengthening the pro-peace faction.
Cerebreojelly Reputation: -25 (Nothing Personal)
((((()))))
Stardate 4325.0927, Captains Log of Stephen Greasen of the Starship Emissary
Well this is awkward. It looks like the first launch of Green Giant was, er, less than a success. Over four decades of work, down the toilet in a few hours. It appears much of the craft was structurally unsound owing to the fact it was structurally largely wood and they used aluminum foil for the hull leaving it lacking in sufficient heat shielding to survive ignition.
The nuclear bomb as a liftoff device probably didn't help.
While most likely a major set back to both Green Giants space program as well as the crater formerly known as East West East Gorkistan's economy, I can't help but feel on review of the data provided by the observation platforms this might be for the best: their society is…not nearly socially developed enough to make space lift not an extremely dicey possibility in terms of how it can potentially end.
It is VERY likely to result in critical Directorate resources being tied up to help stabilize the situation, assuming the rocketry technology doesn't lead to a Pan-Mutual Destruction scenario among the natives. Orkoids are tough, but that won't help if they accidentally sterilize or detonate their planet dropping bombs on themselves, and based on what we've observed of Liverpool, that is potentially one of the LESS destructive outcomes.
Green Giant has failed its space launch severely. As a result, it has gained the East West East Kraterstan feature, which will be used as the launch site for future test vessels, granting a small bonus to their space program…at the cost of freezing it for a turn.
Politically, the landscape is still highly unstable and fractitious, though the general relative peace (by Green Giant standards) has at least helped entrench in the general Green Giant consciousness the idea of peace as both a lasting institution and status quo.
NEW ASSIGNMENTS
WARNING: DIPLOMACY TUTORIAL HAS NOW CONCLUDED. FROM NOW ON ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS WILL NO LONGER LIST PRECISE REPUTATION GAINS, NOR WILL THEY AUTOMATICALLY GRANT REPUTATION. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO PRE-EXISTING PROJECTS, JUST FUTURE ONES. HOWEVER, YOU WILL GET MORE POINTS GENERATING ASSIGNMENTS IN EXCHANGE.
WELCOME TO DIPLOMACY.
H'k Wargames: The H'kek and H'kann were both independently asking for help training their armies. The Fleet has decided it would be diplomatically optimal to burn some of the cache they've earned: get both factions to participate in joint wargames with each other to improve both each militaries ability to function, coordinate, and more importantly help their armed forces build diplomatic connections. Cost 5 H'k Rep.
H'Kek Medical Research: The H'kek had fairly solid pharmacological science, but nothing that would stop the Cerebrojellies. They wanted the Directorate's assistance in developing their pharmacological technology. Grant 1D4 ACD, Endeavor and Trailblazer Only
H'Kann Industrial Development: The H'kann wanted assistance developing their industrial capacity in order to help rebuild their fleet: so far they only had three ships, still below what they had during the invasion and half of the number the H'kek had. Increases H'Kann EXP, Endeavor or Courier only.
H'kek Naval Development: The H'kek had privately shared its analysis with the Directorate. If they had been invaded first, their fleet would likely have done just as poorly as the H'Kann. They were asking for help developing more advanced naval technology, starting with better reactors. Cost 1 H'Kann Reputation, H'kek gain variable naval improvements. Endeavor or Courier Only.
H'Kann E-War Research: The H'kann were fairly blunt about their request: they wanted the same E-War capability as the Directorate. They were willing to collaborate with the Directorate to research it. Grants 1D4 CUL, Costs 1 H'kek Reputation, H'kann gain variable E-War improvements. Endeavor or Trailblazer only.
Yr Albain Giant Deployments: Yr Albain discretely wanted the "Giant" of their battle to make a few re-appearances here and there on various battlefronts across the sector in order to vaporize a few ground armies. To do this, they were willing to, on an individual as needed basis, allow the Directorate to use their subspace dimension. Endeavor or Combat Ship only.
Yr Albain Artefact Hunting: There were numerous Aeldari ruins across the sector on worlds no longer held by the species. Many of these worlds likely held artefacts, potentially strategically or at least culturally valuable ones: if the Directorate could assist in their recovery…Requires either an Endeavor or Trailblazer. Generates 1D4 FTH, potential to unlock an ART.
Yr Albain Scanning: The Directorate had, objectively, some of the best scanning and observation technology available in at least the sector. Yr Albain believed that this technology could prove useful for intelligence gathering and research. Requires Endeavor or Trailblazer. Generates 1D4 ACD, potential to unlock an INT.
Observation of Volcanus 9: More data was needed on Volcanus 9 before any action could be taken against it. A ship would have to be assigned to do more long range observation. Endeavor only, can only deploy a max of 1 ship.
Imperium of Man: A highly xenophobic genocidal space empire consisting primarily of the species known as humanity. Their government consists of a theofascist dictatorship led by a figure they call the God-Emperor, who obviously going by the title seems to occupy the position of both Monarch and Diety, and have a highly authoritarian, reactionary culture where religion and government occupy the same location. Reputation: -200 (Will likely attempt to kill us on sight)
Chaos: A conglomerate of different human factions that are united only by what can be described as a campist hatred of the Imperium despite largely having the same code of ethics and religious practices. Most (but not all) seem to worship one or more of a series of malevolent dieties known as the Chaos Gods. Reputation: -200 (When it comes to ideology these guys are basically the Imperium with a different coat of paint on their human skin banners topped with skulls. They probably aren't going to be happy about the deliberate subversion of their organization)
Autons: A collection of different robots manufactured by the same extinct race, currently the majority of the Auton civilization was enslaved by an alien logic-virus that drove them into an organocidal frenzy. The friendly ones consist of the AutoVessels Ijin, Vlahk, and Koptu, along with their crews, each a few hundred strong. The less friendly ones were the Forbidden Archive, a group of semi-AutoFacilities that used to work for their government in running a black site. Reputation: 42: Cautious Respect. Provides 1 EXP.
-AutoVessel Influence: ++++++ (WARNING: This will begin to drop should the power differentials between both states grow too extreme.)
-Forbidden Archive Influence: +++
Khimer: The enigmatic remnants of a once vibrant civilization, the Khimer have been reduced to a handful of military bases on a dying world, and a small fleet they had no means to repair or expand. While their exact social structure is unknown, the War-Brain seems to operate in a position of prominence in it. Technologically, the Khimer are adept with biotech manipulation and have access to weaponry designed to petrify organic material, and in theory have all the requisite knowledge and technology for space and even warp travel, but no industry capable of supporting it. They had been given access to a cloning facility, some resource donations, an early warning deep space monitoring array, and an expanded heatshield to cool their planet and keep it from warming up. They were also receiving regular shipments of useful materials for rebuilding purposes, largely ice, soil, and a handful of useful metals. Recently had been gifted several glacier-ranges. Reputation: 124- Reliable Allies. Provides 1 CUL, 2 EXP and 1 ACD.
Yr Albain: An exodite world owned by members of the Aeldari species, Yr Albain was a very recently acquired ally. Deliberately living simple lives in harmony with their world, the otherwise peaceful residents of Yr Albain are currently recovering from the genocide enacted on them by the Imperium and Chaos, a process sped up by its World Spirit awakening as the diety Dhia'Albain and the variety of mystical tools provided to them by the Directorate to complement their own considerable abilities. Reputation: 51- Healthy respect. Provides 1 FTH and 1 CUL.
Winterspite Kabal: An organization of Dark Eldar that make their coin acting as pirates and mercenaries. Formerly led by Lord Nisraen, its current archon is the Banefrost, the former flagship turned demigod. Currently has a contract with the Directorate allowing them to purchase their services and stopping them from being raided by the organization. Reputation: 15- Just another client.
Vaul-Tan:Planetvessel bound Eldar, one of the handful that populated this region of space. Generally nomadic, they used a rigid system of mental discipline and monofocus known as the Path system to deal with their metaphysical condition. Vaul-Tan specializes in more mental disciplines such as the Path of Logic. Reputation: 15- Neutral
Invaders: The H'kek are a aggressive, curmudgeonly, distrustful, and also belligerent space faring species that suffers from degenerative neural conditions as a result of the extensive mental and neural modifications inflicted on them, which they dealt with via neuropathic medicine and specialized sedatives intended to mitigate this issue. They were currently in a cold war with their rival, the H'kann. Reputation: 19: More or less neutral.
Abductors: The H'kann are a paranoid, pessimistic, mistrustful, and also broadly suspicious space faring species that suffers from crippling medical and physical disorders as a result of the experiments performed on them, something they deal with via a variety of physical aides and augmentations. They were currently in a cold war with their rival, the H'kek. Reputation: 15: Cautious Neutrality
Orkblood Kindred: A faction of Kroot that have declared war on the Directorate. Their physiology has shown itself to be incredibly physically robust and while they deliberately use more primitive forms of weaponry, those weapons and their very ships are made using highly advanced artisanal techniques from various complex materials, alloys, and biocomponents that it is clear that the enemy is in fact very technologically sophisticated. Reputation: -50: War
Ravvanak: A reptilian race, all encountered examples have acted as pirates preying on the less advanced utilizing highly advanced stealth technology and terror tactics. A catspaw for the Toothgrimm Kabal, they likely act as hired muscle and assassins for the organization. -100: Hatred.
Dorgan: A hippotomid species, the Dorgan belong to a hyper-corporatist civilization that acts as contractors for various services for the Toothgrimm Kabal that preyed on less advanced civilizations for profit. Technologically they had displayed advanced communications technology and the capacity to field the largest fleet the Directorate has encountered yet. -100: Hatred.
Cerebrojelly: A catspaw of the Toothgrimm, the Cerebrojellies are a sophontic symbiotic organism that hijack hosts bodies via interfacing with their brain. They have been caught trying and failing to both infiltrate the H'k and the Khimer. -25: Just business.
((((())))
Even as the fleet stopped a war, the Directorate dealt with upheaval as they began another round of expansion. First, two new pioneers were constructed, though neither intended for more conventional colonies.
Instead, both were bound for systems that belonged to Directorate allies, establishing in the Ruinate system the Biocity, a research colony constructed in and around the bioship, and the Yr Albain Orbital ResidenTek (or YAORT).
The former consisted of a vast genetics research facility designed to analyze Devourer genetics. While the residential facilities were largely external (and filled to the brim with security and quarantine measures), the insides of the facility became a network of laboratories and ferroplastic panels slapped over petrified and dead tissue with the occasional bio-preserve created to keep the ships various native organisms from dying out or security checkpoint serving as a cold iron sphincter in the guts of the Biocity.
The data would prove deeply enlightening both to the Directorate as well as the Khimer, who would begin developing a handful more bioaugmentations using the data, largely internal organs meant to help proof their immune systems against wider ranges of threats such as the Cerebrojellies, who the War Brain would very quietly inform the Directorate had been caught attempting to parasitize the Khimer.
Curiously, the increasing prevalence of ShrineTek in the Bioships proximity had caused some interesting phenomena. Briefly concerning was when tissue was discovered de-petrifying itself. The effect was brief, however, as the unpetrified tissue did not stay unpetrified that much longer after. Beyond that, a number of insectoid vita and lesser umbral phasmidoids would find themselves sighted in the city, necessitating the Khimer provide an extermination service to destroy the hostile ones.
Otherwise, the increased density of biotechnicians in the Ruinate would help the Khimer create special mangrove forests in the few wetter regions of the planet. Engineered from hybridized native Sandscorn plants, these organisms were apparently a form of coral as first, and they would still, broadly speaking, resemble coral, albeit feathered coral. The other species created to stock the region include the Bobster, a crustacean that lives among the roots whose droppings help fertilize the silt, Anemonoid Meatvines, which produces food for the aforementioned Bobster and other organisms, a species of flying, chiropteran fish-bats to help spread seeds, and a large amount of others.
The result is a bit more ecological diversity in the wetlands…even as the regions that are still dry finally entered the proverbial redzone. Biodiversity in the large swathes of land that haven't been rehydrated yet reaches a critical low, forcing the Khimer to spend more effort keeping the species that inhabit the regions alive via cloning or variable infrastructure. Still, the Mangroves produce enough oxygen and prove efficient enough at recycling salt from water that Khimer ecologists still consider this a win, and Khimer economists more-so as that salt finds itself being traded to the Directorate for more and more raw goods, to say nothing of the lumber, and especially engineers thanks to the regions serving as perfect spawnpools for the more delicate, sodiophobic eggs of the engineers, which thrive in the desalinated water.
YAORT meanwhile would consist of a modest array of orbital Eco-Temples managed by the Directorate, producing for Yr Albain a critical resource. Lifeforce to be fed to their ship, the Wings of Kurnous: the Yr Albaini were apparently having trouble keeping it powered. It could, for brief moments at a time, leave the system, but once it was no longer within range of the planetary megavita known as Yr Albains worldsoul it required a degree of arcane power the Yr Albain simply couldn't generate yet to operate.
YAORT didn't solve this problem, but it helped accelerate the Yr Albaini's attempts to do so: with the additional lifeforce, the ship would find itself with enough power to travel through the webway subspace to briefly stop in the home system before needing to return, and according to the Lorekeepers pouring over the problem in the following days even within the system would note a slight bump in performance.
This wouldn't be the only manner in which the Directorate would collaborate with Yr Albain, however. Firstly, the Directorate would help Yr Albain research the process of psi-mummification, studying the mothstronaut's corpse to replicate the means by which trace psychic energy can be stored in the body. The goal of this to help reinforce their bodies after death and, in turn, reinforce part of the network that supports their planetary megavita.
This would lead to close contact between Directorate NekroTeks and the Exodites equivalent, the Barrow-Wraiths. Tasked with managing the transferal of Aeldar souls into the world spirit at correct locations upon the death of Aeldari among other things, these individuals are apparently a precursor to the Wild Hunt, in that they consist of wraithbone robots piloted by the souls of those not deemed pure enough to join the barrow-circuit. A cruel necessity according to the Exoditi: the curse of Slaanesh ensures that every moment of pleasure without hardship or leisure without labour (at least, when not protected by some other means) results in a little bit of their taint seeping into the Exodite soul. Some corruption can be cleansed, but inevitably a few souls will inevitably wind up darkened enough for the stain to be permanent, or at least enough so that they cannot join their kin in death.
These aeldari morticians prove keen arcane minds, and together, they and the Directorate successfully produce a series of psy-mummification procedures. The stronger the psychic potential, the more lingers with the mummy, which can be drawn upon by world circuits.
The Aeldari do not die often, long lived as they are, so in the following days only a few Yr Albaini find their cadavers subject to the process. Still, the Barrow-Wraiths consider the technology a rousing success: apparently, they intend to trade away the process to other Aeldari worlds as a means to buy more support for the secular branch of the alliance Baddica was crafting in the region. The benefit of the technology mean that the more apocalyptically minded Aeldari (apparently there was a large branch of Eldar who believed their species was doomed) would have another tool to reinforce their world-soul, one that would grow larger the longer they could stave off extinction.
In other words, it was primarily a political tool rather than a practical one.
In exchange, the process was shared with the Directorate, though largely the only viable candidates were hobbgrots that perished in the line of duty, or fish. Beyond this, they would call in favors, and locate the Moths homeworld, located in a region south of the reach…
It had been destroyed roughly a century ago by a minor now defunct ork empire: from what they can uncover, the Moths had likely developed a warp capable evacuation fleet, however. It is unknown whether this fleet survived, but if they did, they are very likely to be found either south of the reach or at its southernmost fringes.
The largest collaboration between the pair, however, was entirely martial. The Fleet and the Triple Clan Alliance would begin collaborating, the former producing a series of dossiers created by debriefing the few members of the original Yr Albain invasion force still alive, assorted documents from when more were still among the living, and the computers of the Imperial Ship.
It paints a terrifyingly bleak picture. At a minimum this vessel has either visited or recorded references to several HUNDRED assorted Imperial worlds: easily twice the previous worst case estimate presented by analysts.
Much of the information is useless to the Directorate: planets, ships, systems they have no way of reaching, or else information that was already available. Some of it theoretically valuable: useful for infiltrating their institutions, most likely, and creating spy rings.
It was, however, VERY valuable to Yr Albain, according to contacts with the Wild Hunt and Triple Clan Alliance, who would begin using it and some other items the Fleet would helpfully provide to sabotage Imperial aggression across the sector. A few network spikes in their archives imperialis, a handful popular priests murdered to incite internal unrest, a perpetunite bomb detonated in their places of industry…
It was a very good time to be a warrior of Dhia Albain, apparently. In other diplomatic affairs, more and more members of the Winterspite Kabal would make use of the brand new hunting resorts constructed across Teklia. Archon Banefrost would, in exchange for these facilities, agree to a (as well as some credit towards contract renewal) an oath of good conduct for all members of his Kabal enjoying the facility. An oath he would make good on when a particular kabalite would be discovered hunting a Tekket for sport: the offending Drukhari, a member of a powerful house and member of the Kabal, is frozen into an ice sculpture of sorts using a technology that will apparently keep them alive and aware until, Archon Banefrost promises, the sun of Teklia dies, gifting it to the family of the victim alongside a large cache of rare technology as compensation alongside a formal in-person apology from both the living ship for the actions of his subordinate and the offending kabalites immediate family for "failing to raise him correctly".
This is the only incident of note that occurs with the Kabalites, who are otherwise fairly model guests. Unsettling, especially to the more psychically sensitive among the Directorate able to sense the various unnatural means they hold the curse of Slaanesh at bay, but otherwise remarkably mundane other than their enthusiasm for hunting and skinning the many wild and terrifying beasts that lurked in the Withersylvan ranges. A number of the more lower ranked ones would even venture out beyond the lodges, participating in Battlezone to great success.
In the days after, the Banefrost, according to the handful of contacts the Directorate would cultivate in the Kabal willing to comment on internal affairs, was considering expanding their agreement to the Hobbgrot installation as a form of shore leave to help satiate and entertain the lower statused member of the Kabal during their mandated vacation time in a somewhat more substantial and varied manner, though at present the living ship was content with the current arrangement. Apparently, recruitment was skyrocketing and the expansion was allowing them to climb the ranks in Commoraghian politics.
As a show of good faith, the Banefrost even warns the Directorate: the Toothgrimm are likely to start nipping at them and their outposts. The Gruggo Consortiums horrific loss had ensured that the Directorate had gained their attention, and the success of the Kabal had attracted their attention.
Meanwhile, on Trove, the Frontier Society would complete a series of fisheries to help support the growing population of the Directorate. Across the Trovian sea these facilities would be constructed, floating above it, harvesting ruby-scaled carps, pebblebreaker crabs, and poison barbed shrimp: these creatures would quickly become very popular in the Directorate as food for most organics barring Hobbgrots, who still benefited from the kelp produced. As a result, Trovian seafood would take the Directorate by storm, with many small restaurants adding such dishes as trovian shrimp fried rice, fried coral bites, crab bowls, and carp on a stick to their menu.
With its agricultural industry booming, more and more citizens would immigrate to the world to become fishers. With this came more offerings and more shrines, mostly going to the ocean, which began to enjoy a healthy increase in biological complexity. During the summers, the shallows would become a multi-hued rainbow as the seaguanas, gilled reptiles that migrated from the mesopelagic zones once per year, would flock for mating season, the males possessing brilliant coats of scales to help attract females. In open ocean, fishing tugs would encounter megasalps, titanic zooplankton whose bodies would form floating, gelatinous islands that continually shed dead salps to litter the seafloor with food for the bottom feeders and scavengers. And in the depths, the coral, harvested by Hobbgrots for food alongside the kelp, would reach higher and higher into the sky, generating strange electrical pulses that seemed to be defensive in nature, used to deter the various aquatic mineralophages that would occasionally attempt to devour them as organic supplement. The Hobbgrots would prove undeterred, many of them believing that getting tased a few times was a rite of passage: no Grott was full grown unless they 'ad been zapped enough to smell toast every now and again.
Teklia: Teklia, oh Teklia. The second planet from your star, and your homeworld. A variety of mostly hospitable climates of variable comfortability, it is covered in what can only be described as space garbage: the ecosystem has largely adapted to it and millenia of exploitation has done much to clear it away, but its undeniably a very garbage covered planet. The past few centuries had seen incredibly VAST amounts of garbage cleared away, however, and a complete revitalization of the Teklian biosphere and explosions in biological diversity as the Autorecyclers turn ecosystem choking garbage into useable materials, freeing large amounts of space for habitation, agriculture, parks and forests, the material repurposed into into the Teklian orbital space, its off world colonies, and the Arcolocubes, giant cubic self contained ecofriendly metropolis. At this point, it was estimated that 79% of the world was scrap free: at this point, most remaining scrapzones are being treated as preserves for the species who are so thoroughly adapted to garbage that removing it would neccessitate their extinction.
Luna: A trash filled wreck, unlike Teklia Luna didn't have pesky things like an atmosphere or ecology to degrade its debris, meaning it had very well preserved trash. It was also the site of a modest metropolis consisting of a single CityBlok supplied by lunar spire allowing a high amount of traffic too and from the lunar city, as well as several AutoRecyclers absorbing large quantities of material. It would likely take many, many lifetimes to clean Luna of trash, but the AutoRecyclers had already begun to pay off thanks to the massive amount of material Luna and its colonists now had to play with, as well as the space, largely used for perpetunite and soil manufacturing. It was also the home of Mt. Wander, may he forever sleep above us and never stir, and a small sea formed from the blood of the titan, as well as the LAOC Array.
Orbital City One: An Orbital Metropolis, this space station consisted primarily of its orbital docks and a handful of city-bloks, making it a vibrant and bustling mid-point between Teklia, the Moon, and the rest of Directorate Space, frequented by a variety of residents, travellers looking to visit Wonderpark or the Orbital Parks, and asteroid miners looking to deposit their hauls and get some well deserved shore leave. It was also the location of the Fleet MegaDocks, a semi-cubic structure dedicated to manufacture of ships which had recently had AutoAssembly Berths installed to aid with manufacturing large ships and Reactor Printers designed to source power cores for said ships.
Deep Space Monitoring System: A Fleet initiative that utilizes a great deal of surplus processing power to scan the sky both to map it out as well as detect incoming threats before they arrive, giving early warning to the Directorate against hostile threats, recently expanded and upgraded to improve efficiency.
Nuclear Stockpiles: The defensive nuclear warhead stockpile, consisting of advanced perpetunite warheads, weapons capable of releasing a near-apocalyptic nuclear reaction the size of a city capable of lasting over half an hour. Most were assigned to homeworld defense, but a few had seen their way onto the ships of the Directorate and even the educational system.
Naklis: Home to an extremely extensive mining operation in the Geode Canyons near the poles, this firey planet had two cities: a massive Spire that doubled as a space elevator and Comm-Hub, host to several hundred thousand residents, primarily mining and industrial engineers, who produced vast quantities of material, primarily Rare-Teklian-Minerals and nuclear materials, and the Mega-Harvester, a mobile burrowing city-machine that extracted minerals and living metal from below the crust, as well as four Elemental Master Control Shrines dedicated to the spirits of fire, earth, metal, and gems. It also possesses an Elemental Spire, a vast facility equipped with a massive perpetunite reactor that, through GodTek holy-engineering, converted nuclear energy to arcane power, strengthening all manner of elemental manifestation on the planet. It was also home to a Wonderpark outlet and several Lumium Chip factories.
Erichtheo: The third genuine colony of the Directorate, Erichtheo is an incredibly frigid ocean moon that was covered in a thick sheet of ice, one particular part of which was thick enough to serve as a continent of sorts. Currently, on the surface it home to one city located on the floating continent-berg as well as numerous smaller settlements dotted across the mile thick ice layer stretching over the planet, and one major orbital docking station used to transport material too and from the planet. Underwater, it had numerous cities built out of cultivated coral located in what had prior been the planets dead zones, alongside numerous artificial reefs constructed to house and be art as well as habitats for various flora and fauna.
Trove: The first real extrasolar colony of the Directorate, Trove was a planet covered in gems, a quirk of its somewhat undeveloped ecology. Biomes of interest include a series of mountains formed out of gigantic mega-gems, a large set of grasslands near the equator, and a single ocean, upon the coast of which was the first city of the planet, Gleam.
Tacchis: A frozen iceball that was stuck in a state of either night or perpetual evening broken up by the occasional Aurora Umbrealis caused by what little light reached the planet hitting the planets thin atmosphere. A source of ice and gems, its primary industries were therapy and server space, with the AAAA's being the largest concentration of humans in the Directorate.
Great Void Express: A system spanning void rail network designed to move material and personnel between worlds quickly, the Great Void Express was the most expansive piece of infrastructure the Directorate had access to.
The Gas Giants: Mongus and Meeklak. The location of the gas revolution, these gas giants had a large amount of refineries and harvesters across their atmosphere that provided the Directorate a steady stream of gasseous fuel, breathing air, medivapors, fertilizer components, and various corrosive compounds.
Station Tartus: Tartustus, or Tartus as its more colloquially known, is the highest security prison in the Directorate, used to house captured Destroyers in a manner that is humane but safe. Adaptive wards, its own Commander-Machina brigade, and every possible security feature the Directorate has available while still treating its occupants in an ethical manner.
Yr Albain Herd-Temples: Yr Albain always needed more lifeforce, and building additional Herd-Temple facilities would benefit the Directorate as well by allowing them to rear more and experiment with holy livestock sourced from the Exoditi. 0/15, gain Saurian Herdbeasts, increasing CUL
Yr Albain Gem Shipment: Alternatively, apparently Cursite and to a lesser extent lumium had seen great success in weapons and the former once purified and the latter generally WAS quite valuable for its anti-curse properties. Shipping it would accelerate Yr Albain curse and elemental development and help the war effort. 0/15, Yr Albain is provided Elemental Gems for research and military purposes, increasing FTH. Cost 1 NK, requires ship assigned to Yr Albain route.
Eye of Isha: A theoretical idea: the Wings were organic, yes? It had been confirmed that they performed photosynthesis. What if to help "charge" it a large scale array was created using a combination of Directorate engineering and Aeldari technology designed to focus and mystically enrich sunlight? 0/15, Yr Albain gains Eye of Isha.
Iron Shores Daturgic Cannons: An idea by Vlaahk: he wanted to use Daturgic Engine technology to create a series of devices designed to assist in breaching the network using advanced hypercode. Likely this wouldn't be enough to take the planet on its own, but it would make it significantly simpler. Obviously the AutoFacilities were not enthused, however. 0/25, AutoVessels gain Daturgic Cannon superweapon. Cost 1 AutoFacility influence and NT.
Iron Shores Bioengine: Koptu had his own rather urgent request: he believed that he has the means to create not only a universal genekey, but one capable of mimicking the highest possible level security codes. This would massively simplify the AutoVessels to bypass large swathes of security. He just needed Directorate assistance to build the means to craft it: the BioEngine. 0/25, AutoVessels gain BioEngine. Cost 1 BioData. This turn only.
MegaMachines of the Volatile Lands!: One of the major categories of Union Spirit, the MegaMachines were titanic extractive units that can mine thousand of units of ore, miles and miles of lumber, or process vast amounts of asteroids by themselves. The Union wanted to deploy them to the Volatile Lands to extract more cursite and other useful materials, but it would take some cost. 0/50, Union gains increased presence in Volatile Lands, gain NK and LM.
Lunar Vinyard: A proposal by the Lunar Monks for a form of meditative recreation, they wanted to expand the moon with a series of gardens and facilities to grow lunaberries with which to make wine and other substances. 0/10, Lunar Monks gain Vinyard, increasing CUL
Teklian Daturgic Towers: Daturgic Engines were incredible, but largely still only partially deployed in specialist laboratories. The Virus Busting Corp wanted to begin working to upgrade all major Teklian DataHubs to utilize the technology, the first major upgrade to the towers themselves in a very long time. 0/50, gain Daturgic Tower, increasing ACD and Network
Biocity Biogarden: A way to help collect data on devourer physiology: take some of the extant species located within it and create (highly quarantined) BioDomes designed to hold both these creatures and any viable derivatives thereof that might emerge based on experimentation. 0/15, gain Tyranid Gut Flora Garden, increasing ACD and BioData.
Biocity Biolasers: Alternatively, effort could be put on further securing the facility. Things were likely fine, but if the system was attacked it would help protect the Biocity. A series of laser arrays bolted on wouldn't be amiss. 0/10, Biocity gains laser array
Biocity Bioreactor: The Biocity would likely require a high degree of power for researching bioparticle physics. Constructing a reactor would allow it to be supplied that power. 0/15, Biocity gains Core Reactor, increasing ACD. Cost 1 NK.
OOG-87's MicroSingularity: A proposal by OOG-87, this specialist high energy array will be located well into dark space, where it will be used to study the properties of black holes by creating a miniature one that's only planet sized. 0/25, increases ACD.
Trovian Coral Farmers: As more agriculture came to Trove, one proposal by enterprising Hobbgrots was to create a series of underwater farms for growing coral, kelp, and plankton. These would help increase not only Directorate food stores, but also provide vegetarian alternatives. 0/25, Trove gains Coral Farms.
Monoliths: A proposal by some Frontier Society affiliated Shrine-Keepers, they wanted to create a facility to manufacture specialized, massive Lifeforce Batteries designed to discharge their contents at once when activated. The idea, the Shrine-Keepers proposed, would be to equip these Monoliths to your colony ships, allowing them to rapidly awaken a planets spirits ahead of landfall by firing Monoliths at it. The surplus Monoliths produced could also be used in domestic spiritual projects. 0/20, unlocks Monolith Artefact, upgrading your colony ships by allowing them to rapidly awaken a worlds spirits, and providing FTH via surplus Monoliths being deployed across Directorate Space. Cost 1 Warp.
Naklis Elemental Gardens: A proposed method to expand on the Elemental Temples was providing them large eco-domes where they will be able to cultivate animals and plants in order to create optimum offerings to the Spirits. This would accelerate the awakening of Naklis's elemental spirits, and, more crucially, allow for the export of livestock and plants more suited to offering to other elemental spirits that might lurk throughout the Directorate. 0/20, increase EXP, upgrade ShrineHerds with Elemental Herdbeasts.
Lumium Wardstones: A proposed way to take advantage of advancing Lumium Technology: ward enhancements. By performing certain mystek processes upon the gem, it might be able to be used in the mass manufacture of devices intended to use the arcane power of the elemental spirits to serve as physical reinforcement for the spiritual protections. 0/45, gain Lumium Wardstones, increasing Ward Performance at the cost of 1 NK.
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Compulsory Education: One of the things that helped the Directorate flourish was mandatory education starting years 3 to 26. Every citizen received lessons in science, engineering, mathematics, language, history, ethics, and nuclear physics and engineering and a secondary education in whatever field they wished.Provides +2 ACD.
High Energy Research Labs Jr: Your children grow up playing with particle accelerators and build it yourself protonic reactors. Many other species might consider this insane beyond belief, but your children certainly benefitted from the intellectual stimulation, even if Schools now had to be bomb-proof. Provides +2 ACD and 1 EXP point and two network. An improvement to Nuclear Engineering For Kits.
Wonderpark Fungineering Guild: An organization headquartered at Wonderpark that specializes in novel engineering for entertainment purposes, they had helped massively expand Wonderpark by developing new rides and attractions utilizing all manner of whimsical technology to help delight guests and residents alike, and with the Nukeland attraction, help get them exited about the wonderful world of particle engineering! And on Naklis, MineWorld not only helped get people exited about Naklean culture and mining and industrial technology, but helped provide the Directorate and Wonderpark a steady stream of material. +2 CUL, +2 EXP, +1 ACD, Orbital Engineering improved.
Wargames: Every year Directorate Fleet's science division puts out a handful of strategy games that they promote via professional leagues and events in order to encourage developing strategic management skills and, more importantly, get people to join the Fleet. Improved strategic skill and survivability for all troops and increased Fleet recruitment, increasing the size of crew complements.
War Against Extinction: A harsh lesson learned during the Destroyer War: there existed powers in the cosmos far more powerful than your species that wished you harm. It was a grim calculus, but if the day came when your soldiers and explorers had to sacrifice themselves in order to take down an enemy that would threaten your people, they would, without hesitation. Slight bonus for all forces against superior opponents, can designate forces as Extinctionist, increasing how much damage they do to foes but moderately reducing survivability.
Moneyless Society: Currency was an outdated concept when you produced enough food and material to more than meet peoples needs. Resistance to subversion increased.
Advanced Promoted Therapy: Trauma was a major enemy to the health and wellbeing of many Tekket. To combat it, your society had an extensive network of therapists, psychiatrists and social workers, including an entire division of the Academy dedicated to the industry, as well as extensive facilities on Tacchis. Moderately increased mental resilience for all Tekket.
Meditation: The product of countless therapists and religious and spiritual leaders working to promote the practice as a method of spiritual and mental wellness maintenance, Meditation had taken off in Tekket society, both group, private, and virtual mediation. It was no replacement for actual therapy, but it served as a valuable religion agnostic tool for mental health.
HobbyBots: In this modern era, BlokBots were used for more than just manual labour: they had also found a niche in the consumer entertainment market as pets, in games, as toys, and even sports and competitions, and with increased popularity came more casual robotics hobbiests. +1 EXP, BlokBots are slightly better designed.
Zero G Sports Team: All throughout the Directorate, citizens enjoyed watching and playing Z-G sports, to the point where Wonderpark had several mega-stadiums specifically dedicated to the watching the antigravity games played professionally by the Wonderpark Sports League and most CityBloks came installed with at least one Grav-Suite for amateur or local teams and leagues. Recently, Super Battleball had become fairly popular, especially with Hobbgrots, who loved piloting the gigantic, stompy exo-vehicles. +1 Cul, improves physical fitness, can deploy Super Battlebots.
The Great Gallery: The Culmination of Art, the Great Gallery was a one hundred story space station constructed within a Giga-Art Installation Array containing multiple Mega-Art Galleries, a vast university-city in which millions honed their craft and learned all manner of arts from holo-painting, to elemental sculpting, to even the creation and performance of great pieces of music, and at the center the great Temple of the Dancer, in which the Grandmasters of that order nurtured those Muses and Artists they deemed of exceptional talent or else dedicated their lives to the creation of art and honing of their craft, producing all manner of impossible masterwork. With the performance of the Call, the place was always filled with a melody that sounded different to all who heard it, yet always pleasing to the ear, and many Aeldari visitors, especially young couples, had taken to visiting, claiming that the protection and power of the Goddess in her seat of power was such that it negated the grasp on their soul. +19 CUL.
Frontier Explorer Compartment: A universal compartment for ships designed to hold a volunteer corp of civilians dedicated to exploring the universe. Provides a number of useful civilian services and allows for small outposts to be constructed wherever your exploratory vessels travel, as well as a fully staffed hospital to meet all medical needs, no matter how major, your ship encountered. Fleet upgraded with Frontier Town compartment, providing a variety of civilian skills and services to ships alongside a steady stream of internal recruits. Ships gain improved medical care.
Lunar Salvage Cabals: A society consisting of trash-trawlers hunting for intact samples of lunar technology, the Cabals work is dangerous owing to the vast amounts of hostile alien wildlife, but they so far have managed to collect a great many minor artefacts of note, making the risk more than worth it. +1 ART
Orbital Pioneer Initiative: It wasn't unusual for Tekket to pick up and move to orbit in ship-houses, either creating their own small communities, caravans moving between Teklia, Naklis, and Luna, or even venturing further on their own, erecting larger and larger orbital townships around the power-sources provided by the Charger-Ships, or larger ones along the rails. +1 EXP.
Sacred Livestock: Your people held in religious veneration the animals you harvested lifeforce from, having large, communally owned herds that were used by priests and mysteks alike in their rituals and rites, the animals donating a small portion of their vital energies once per year in exchange for peerless care, many reared at the Herdtemples, vast orbital complexes meant to serve as a major hub for the rearing and useage of these sacred beasts. They also produced a variety of products such as sacred honey, milk, wax, and horns. +1 Warp, +1 EXP
Open Air Zoos: With the advent of major zoological facilities and services, large amounts of carefully tended to wilderness had begun to see use by Druids and Rangers to help educate civilians about nature, wildlife, and bioscience...and causing both groups to swell massively. +1 CUL.
Elemental Festivals: Four times a year a celebration was held. One for fire. One for gem. One for metal. One for stone. On these days, the elementals were celebrated above all, and given mighty tribute in food, talismanic offerings, lifeforce, and the hopes and desires of those that invoked them. On these days, it was said that the Elementals were sated enough to on occasion grant those desires, especially on Naklis, at the seats of their power. +1 FTH
BATTLEZONE!: An extension to Wonderpark consisting of a massive Arena where Hobbgrots duke it out with never ending swarms of bots, thus feeding the Waaagh spirits, who in turn would donate considerable sums of lifeforce, forming a nice symbiotic relation between all concerned groups. +1 CUL.
Theatritheurgy: The Assembly had used the power of the Mask and the Lost Plays to create a new branch of arcane manipulation: theatritheurgy. Using Personae Masks and Archetypic Spirits, Plays of Power created by studying the arts of the Dark Playwright can be amplified in strength, used to create and strengthen events, characters, and concepts in the Warp. Currently, most Theatritheurgy consisted of Brightway Plays and plays in that genre, as well as renditions of the Mechanābhārata +5 CUL, +1 Warp.
Culture Points (CUL Points): 120
BioData: 8
New Projects
DigiPark: A proposal by Wonderpark: to create a virtual themepark using the same sort of digital simulacra-tek as the Data Ark to serve as a next-best-thing to visiting Wonderpark in person for those who lived in other systems or in the Warp/Cyberspace. 0/25, gain DigiPark, increasing CUL and increasing digital tourism. Cost NT.
The Digitesque Movement: All the pieces were there. It would not take much for the artistic elements of the Directorate to coalesce in a new movement, one specializing in using cyberspace for maximal exploration of aesthetic. 0/25, gain Digitesque Movement increasing CUL. Cost 1 NT.
Winterspite Battlezone Lodging: Well, it helped buy credit towards repurchasing the client contract at least: Banefrost wanted to expand Battlezone with lodging and amenities designed to cater to his Kabal. Warded sleeping and leisure areas, gladiatorial (or at least as one could come under Directorate law) arenas, game shows…0/25, Winterspite gains Battlezone Lodging.
HexTek Fortune Cookies: A new fad was growing in the Directorate: special baked snacks such as skones and cookies containing hex-tek fortunes. While they had no effect, perhaps that could be changed… 0/25, Mysteks learn to create HexTek Fortune Cookies, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.
BlokBot Sales: Yr Albain was apparently interested in purchasing BlokBots for defensive purposes. And more saliently, there were plenty of other exoditi worlds that were also interested in purchasing cheap, disposable defenders. 0/25, Yr Albain begins purchasing BlokBots and second hand Auto-Dogs, increasing EXP. Requires ship on Yr Albain route.
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Even as this occurred, the Fleet would invest in their combat capability. First, to meet increasing arcane power needs that this would require, they would collaborate with Naklean Elementalists to erect a number of facilities designed to drain the dark power of the Cursite en mass and the Demiurgic Courts to create HexTek talismans.
The former were a series of locations placed across the floating continent, at the edges of the volatile lands. Wide and flat cylindrical facilities, to perform various super-sized rituals and fueling extremely advanced elemental research they were constantly draining several thousand cursite eggs.
Largely this energy found itself being used either for wards or various protective magics meant to help contain the spread of additional cursite, the purified remains of its crystals being sold throughout the Directorate to mysteks, making obtaining the antidaemonic gem far easier.
HexTek Talismans meanwhile used a demiurgic math-branch to manipulate probability fields. A…gift of sorts from YALDABOATH as repayment for some unknown incident in the past, these talismans are largely used as an alternative to paying lifeforce, as instead the talismans will instead use the advanced godmath to make the rites fulfillment more probable. In theory, a HexTek talisman can generate infinite arcane power this way.
In practice one is normally more liable to die before then, as HexTek Talismans "drain" luck to fuel their effects, causing a karmic backlash proportionate to the arcane power generated. Still, many mysteks find the things incredibly useful, especially when acting as a supplement instead of singular powersource. As always, the best version of these items remain largely the purview of the Courts, who use the math branch in far other, more creative ways via the GodTek gifted to them.
One of these creative ways, an attempt by the Demiurgic Courts to experiment with paying off the karmic debt via cursite causes a karmic paradox that results in a singular directorate citizen, a human by the name of Miles Schwartz, being inflicted with an apocalyptic amount of karmic debt.
Specifically, the karmic debt several thousand times in excess of what the Directorate would generate yearly, leading the Arcolocube the poor technician inhabits being evacuated when its reactor goes critical after a series of other disastrous events surrounding them, most of which were severely injurious if not lethal. And worse, being inflicted with this amount of arcane baggage has seemed to awaken in the human would seem to awaken in them some biological anomaly.
Miles Schwartz has been cursed with absolute immortality.
It takes weeks of work, massive amounts of purified cursite, several hundred mysteks working to absorb at least part of the karmic debt to more manageable levels, and the intervention of Yaldaboath, but at the very least the situation is eventually contained. The Arcolocube is permanently quarantined, all citizens relocated, and a massive hextek ward erected around its remains: the area is named by Directorate as the Schwartz-zone, and from there on, it exists as a city of one, one where contact between Miles Schwartz and the rest of society is kept limited and indirect to prevent a karmic cascade, limited to food and the bare minimum of social contact required to keep them sane enough to not seek out another arcolocube.
Help from the God-Machines is limited: Yaldaboath terms the technician as a "perpetual", a sort of glitch in reality that only occurs in humans, and one that is unfortunately a general mystery to the God-Machines both in how it functions and how to cure malfunctioning cases.
Regardless, together the pair of items helps fuel several developments. The most agnostic: a series of curses meant to invoke the spirits of the sea. The Darktide Spells. Meant to act as naval support, when inflicted upon enemy vessels and ships it fills their halls with torrential currents to drown and disrupt. Venomous barnacles, stinging urchioids, and electro-mussels would cover surfaces, damaging machinery and acting as hazards to the crew, who would have to content with attack crustaceans and swarms of biting fish even as the Vita of Life inflicted them instead with sea sickness, making their bellies tumble and turn.
And, interestingly, it seems that this corpus of aquatic attack curses is extremely efficient when powered by Cursite, which provides an extremely potent fuel in tests for the rite, so much so that the decade sees some minor blowback in the form of Directorate ships accidentally cursing themselves, something that increases the amount of work both mysteks and engineers have to spend maintaining their vessels.
Otherwise, much of the arcane power provided finds itself utilized by the Huntsmaster Temple. If the Gruggo Consortium attacks (an extremely likely possibility) having better equipped Hunteks could spell the difference between success and destruction.
The most mundane development is the expansion of their floating temple to include an advanced arcanoengineering workshop where the more technically inclined could manufacture customized gear and weapons from assorted parts: the pieces of slain dark vita prove fairly popular, as does cursite in all it's configurations. From Devilkiller Rifles that fired depleted cursite rounds, Seeker-Bombs resembling crabs that could reposition themselves as needed for maximum detonation damage, Digishift Cloaks to help keep them hidden, to even specially constructed variations of AutoDogs created from advanced biometal and equipped with extremely advanced combat code designed to serve as spotters, hunting hounds, and melee support.
These- and all other religious regalia associated with the Huntsmaster- would find themselves blessed with his power at the Hunters Shrine, a large edifice constructed using advanced ShrineTek and consecrated to the Huntsmaster. There, his adherents, religious or otherwise, would sacrifice trophies from slain foes: in turn, the Huntsmaster would gift these weapons various esoteric properties. The greater the foe, the greater the gift, typically various protective or offensive properties. Other qualities would affect the result as well: Hunteks would generally agree that non-lethal takedowns and captures typically resulted in greater gains, especially if the target at no point became aware of the Hunter.
And to provide more tools in the field, theurgies dedicated to the Huntsmaster are developed by his priesthood. Three rites, all of them providing boons that can be used to help locate or fell foes. The first rite: the ritual of Hunting Hounds. When performed upon a more animalistic companion using an article of some form from them, should the target be on the planet the Hound WILL find it. The next: the Rite of the Unerring Bullet. Performed to consecrate individual rounds for up to an hour, it ensures that should the target be in range, they will be hit. Tests using dummy rounds have shown only creatures with reflexes on par with an Eldar are capable of dodging. The last of them, Hunters Folly.
Hunteks are not intended to fight in melee. They lack claws, speed, strength: the Tekket body is more suited for flight than combat. Hunters Folly does not fix that, but it does at least provide a means to deal with that weakness. When enacted, for variable amounts of time afterward the user will find their various physical attributes enhanced, allowing them to somewhat level the playing field should they have to engage directly with their target.
The latter rite is one of the only theurgies of the Huntsmaster that become published publicly for mass consumption.
The result of these investments is the Huntsmaster Temple growing rapidly in influence as the most militarized branch of the Directorate armed forces. This influence finds itself used to deal with the many, many hostile or dangerous spirits in the Directorate: most typically Stalking Beasts, which briefly surged in sightings, even attacking citizens in the arcolocubes. These sightings quickly begin declining, however, as the creatures that attack people are either captured or destroyed, with trophies taken from them proving more potent at the Hunters Shrine. A small handful are even (relatively) tamed to serve as hunting companions for the more occult leaning Huntek, who take advantage of the stealth capabilities of the antianima to bring down foes.
Further, as the decades pass, more and more begin to dream of the Huntsmaster and the dark forest he inhabits, and talismans and holy items made in his name grow stronger, granting the ability to protect against hostile spirits of the Wyld. Some of the weapon spirits blessed at his shrine, the ones both cognizant and dedicated to his worship enough to gain his true favor, even display the ability to perform his theurgies at a moments command.
Sadly, this would not help with the upcoming disaster.
Machine Spirits: Discovered via ancient texts from long gone precursors, the Tekket have a healthy reverence for machine spirits, viewing them as invisible partners and allies. So long as the vessel is maintained and proper respect is given, the Tekket find the spirits of their technology extremely reliable, with a handful of rites and rituals existing in order to allow the Tekket to commune with the ghosts in the machine. Improved reliability for all technology.
Rite of Anima: A series of TekAgnostic Mystek rituals designed to help Machine Spirits achieve an awareness of self, strengthening them to the point they can be transferred into Bond-Drone vessels, where they can be used as companions, assistants, helpers, and pets. +3 EXP.
MagTek Altars: Occult Supercomputers housing mature Bond-Spirits connected to MagTek Assemblers and a variety of other additions that vary both Altar by Altar and Mystek Order by Mystek Order, these artefacts act as ritual accelerators, allowing for more efficient and power Anima Rite practices: some few also contain WarpTek allowing them to siphon power from a microportal to the immaterium. Grants 2 ACD and 1 FTH, improves effects of Mystek Rites.
TekMasoleum: Massive crypts interred with vast amounts of cryopreserved Tekket remains in vast Crypt-Complexes, guarded by wandering Bond-Drones and housing cthonic Bond-Machinas fed on the brainscans and stories of the dead, acting as storytellers and guides for those seeking knowledge of the dead, even as Shadow Muses cajole the spirits of the dead using their preternatural powers and ensure they're given the attention and reverence they warrant and ensuring their stories are remembered. +3 CUL, +1 FTH.
TekGrimoires: Occult aids consisting of HoloTek BlokBooks containing a variety of occultek lore and esoterica collated from various traditions combined with automated program-rituals designed to perform complex mathematical rites and calculations at speeds and precisions the organic brain cannot and inbuilt spiritual translation matrices to allow for communication with Anti-Anima and cursite purification chargers to provide sorcerous power. +1 FTH
Greater Rite of Lifeblood: Not so much a rite as a plug and play modular rite component, this technique had been provided by Sphere 001 as a method to empower rituals and occultek ceremonies by donating lifeforce. It had proven...frightfully effective, making the Rite of Anima and other rituals far more effective, even if technically it was a form of blood magic. Recently, as more understanding of how lifeforce functions has developed, more efficient methods of performing this sub-rite have been developed. +5 FTH, gain 1 Warp, 1 Artefact
God-Machine Cults: A collection of cults organized into Demiurgic Circles, each swearing to one of the three God-Machines. The God-Machines seem to have allowed their support, taking from them tithes of life-force in exchange for audiences and secrets. Of the Cults, the Court of Hunger, formed from a collection of Demiurgic Circles dedicated to Sphere 001, was the most powerful faction, having access to a mega-agricultural facility they used to feed Sphere 001.
Folk-Religions: A variety of religions supporting various dieties and pantheons, the Folk-Religions of Teklia had grown greatly in the past few years, and it wasn't unusual for Arcolocubes to have the occasional festival or ceremony held by the congregants of said religions.
The Assembly: The Assembly believed that no gods existed yet, but that they could be made, shaped by mantras, given breath by lifeforce, and given shape by living metal. They've completed the Heart of the Assembly, a massive mega-Altar fed a constant stream of life-force containing an extremely advanced machine spirit designed to help fuel the creation of their gods, as well as the Mask, the Avatar of Identity, intended to help shape their personality, and the Engine, Avatar of Motive Force. +2 EXP, +1 CUL.
Church of the Great Calculator: The Calculators believed that if the gods existed, no vessel had sufficient processing power to manifest them, no programming language the complexity to describe them, and no vessel strong enough to contain them. They've taken steps to solve this with the creation of GodTek Emulator 0 - The Path, a massive theological computation engine designed using Machine-God artefacts, installing both NetV2, Craft, GriMM.EXE, and QUESTBRO upon it to help begin erecting bridges to the divine, as well as maintaining the Hypercomm Forums. +2 CUL, 2 ACD, and 1 EXP.
TekShrines: Shrines established on every ship, every CityBlok, alongside countless minor Shrines, to honor local machine spirits, the larger and more expansive the shrine, the larger its area of coverage. They had a strong effect thanks to decades of investment, with Talismans and Herds and Rites and immortal trees all contributing to produce myriad vita of both urb and wyld. Of late, they've been augmented by tying to them a Guardian Spirit charged with protecting against threats and, in times of peace, providing blessings to the spirits and mortals who ventured to the Shrine or called it home as well as special Oracle Chambers that allow for increased communication with the Spirits and amplification of donated lifeforce. Recent advancements had seen them installed with Warp-Tek Portals and Lesser Engines, increasing the power flowing through them. +8 EXP and +1 CUL/FTH, increased ship performance, protects against supernatural phenominon, increases affinity with Night spirits.
Totem Network: An array of WyldShrines, CloudShrines, Eternal Arbor Totems, and Pyrefly Courts stretching across much of the Directorate wilderness and cities, empowering the Vita significantly and helping them, bit by bit, achieve awakening and transcendance. +5 EXP, +3 CUL, reduced hostility from wildlife and increased flame affinity for natural life.
Orchestrion: Large, heavy, and mostly immobile units, Orchestrions utilize arcano-resonant theory to perform songs that strengthen spirits considerably by harmonizing and amplifying them, allowing their souls far more power, producing more powerful Bond-spirits, Vita, Muses, and assorted other anima: some specific machines, dubbed Symposiads, can be used to sing into existence lifeforce ex nihilo using Tyygberts Crescendo, though such machines are largely the purview of entire mystek orders. +10 to every Category, +3 Warp
Central Spiritual Bureaucracy: The Central Bureacracy had several functions: process the unholy amount of paperwork required for the Directorate to function on any level, aid the common citizen with any forms or legal assistance they required, train future bureaucrats and civic servants, serve as a sort of secondary education for Shrine-Keepers, and last but not least, act as a temple for the agnostic priesthood of the mortal-turned-divinity known as the Peerless Immortal Functionary, who served as a high ranking figure in the Bureacracy. +2 EXP, +5 FTH.
Old Ones Temple: A location within Erichtheo where adherants of the cetacean lord give tribute and attempt to utilize the once-hidden knowledge possessed by the priesthood to augment and improve rites and rituals with ancient and previously forgotten theurgies. +1 to every stat.
Toy Makers Temple: A temple erected to the god of children and faerie, the Toy Makers holy site is located at Wonderpark, where its priests and the followers of the God make pilgrimage, its attendants performing rites to honor the Toy Maker and his court as well as constructing handmade sacred toys to give to visitors, as well as maintaining the Faerie Shrine. This Holy Site provides your children minor protection against malign influence and points in all categories.
Rite of Natures Harmony: A Druidic Rite that, when performed, quells the souls of beast and plant and elemental, even while strengthening the guardians of nature that call the region home, making them more effective at warding against malign threats and promoting healthy growth in their range. Reduced hostility from wild-life, strengthens Nature Guardians, increasing EXP.
Divine Rites of the Toymaker: Of all divinities, the Toy Maker was one of the few that could be reliably called upon using ritual and lifeforce, and this required days of calculations, neural massaging to prepare the brain, and then being hooked up to a specialized Neuro-Stimulator and large amounts of lifeforce, all for a handful of petty cantrips, and three rituals of any purpose: the first to briefly animate a handful of toys to do as the Toy-Theurge commands, the second to conjure a sprite of lifeforce to flit around for a few moments before fading away, and the third, and most useful, a rite capable of sending the theurgist who uses it into a divinely inspired frenzy of mirth and creation, typically manifesting as the construction of toys and amusing devices. Divine Rites of the Toy Maker provide increased points in all categories.
Divine Rites of the Roadguide: The Roadguide Rites made them invaluable aboard ships for their ability to navigate the warp with the Rite of Pathfinding, their ability to give ships the ability to light forward their path for brief moments with the Rite of Roadtorches, and the ability to divinely augment wards with the Rite of Safe Travel, making them stronger and sturdier. Divine Rites of the Toy Maker provides bonus to all travel and exploration rolls.
Divine Rites of the Dancer: The Dancer hasthree primary rites: the first, the Rythm of the Goddess, a ritual that when performed granted perfect grace and movement, making it an excellent tool for many performances and, obviously, dances as well as many forms of athleticism, funnily enough, causing a small amount of Hobgrotts to take up the worship of the Dancer as a minor sports god. The second, Minor Hue Adjustment, a thaumaturgy that allowed the performers to adjust the coloration of art and various other items simply and easily, without having to resort to such frivolities as paint or dye. The last, the Song of the Dancer, works on the same general principles as the Rite of Anima, but with increased effectiveness for spirits of Art, allowing Muses to be produced more easily and making the Mega-Art Spirits more powerful, the gigantic constructs continuing to grow in power to the point where many began displaying the ability to weave together elaborate illusions within the building sized TekArts interior, allowing them to more efficiently delight and entertain guests. +5 CUL.
Divine Rites of the Lanternkeeper: The Lanternkeeper has three primary rites. The First Divine Rite was the Ritual of Lanternglow, which allows one to light a paper lantern with no fuel so long as some chalk is possessed. With an overall brightness and duration determined by how much Lifeforce was used, it would largely serve as a novelty supplement for the most part. The second is the Ritual of Torchhope, which allows for flame torches to be enchanted to provide feelings of peace, generally less effective than pharmaceuticals but a useful enough supplement for antidepressants and antianxiety medication, especially when combined with meditative exercises, causing many a Monk to invest in TekGrimoires of their own, if only to help them keep their sacred mindfulness lanterns functioning. The last rite of the Lanternkeeper would prove to be the most curious: performed solely by adherants of the god of hope, the Ritual of Unlit Candles would performed as an offering to the Final Flame not now, but in the future: each time the ritual was performed, its adherants would promise more and more power to the Emberlight when the final days came, stockpiling it for the apocalypse, the darkest days. Protection against despair.
Shrine of Wander: May he one day wake. May his heart heal and bring forth paradise. May his blood give life eternal as he is given life for eternity. Mt. Wander less likely to awake.
Huntsmasters Temple: A temple erected to the god of monster slayers, the Huntsmasters Temple is located on Luna, above a patch of the garbage sea suspended via Mag-Lev system, where it trains a variety of monster hunters in the arts of ending and equips those hunters with them with custom tailored gear produced in its Workshop and blessed at its Shrine. Produces Huntsmasters, high performance monster slayers with custom engineered high tech weaponry with awoken spirits that possess several theurgic tools.
Mystek Ritual Compartment: A recent addition to your vessels was a universal Mystek Ritual Compartment, consisting of at least one MagTek Altar, sleeping quarters for the Mysteks, and a variety of facilities required for them to conduct rituals, rites, and occult research. Provides access to greatly improved esoteric and occult expertise to all vessels and easy access to most rites and rituals, improving general ship performance.
The Great Conclave: A pan-religious body tasked with mediation and communication as theological research and coordination. Located in a special district in Orbital City One, the Great Conclave has proven of variable efficacy so far for the latter, having mostly standardized a handful of rites for ease of use, though the former purpose it had had so far served well enough. +1 FTH.
Talismans: Originally created for Shrines, Talismans had seen their useage increase dramatically as they've become adopted by Mysteks and Holy People as well to reduce how much of their own life force they had to use in their rites via arcane scripts and rituals and improved through crafting them using the nuts of Arbor Guardians, allowing them to hold a small amount of lifeforce on their own: lately, they've also been upgraded by the Calculators to interface with technology via //PATH architecture and augmented by the Demiurgic Courts to utilize advanced probability manipulating HexTek to further support rites. +2 EXP, +3 FTH, +Every Other Stat
Lunar Festival: A yearly ritual designed to appease the spirits of the moon, the Festival consisted of an entire month of offerings, rituals, rites, and ceremonies designed to satiate the spirits. It had proven of dubious effectiveness, largely only reducing Quartzbug attacks, the actual effectiveness of the Festival fading over the year until it had to be performed again. Still, it was progress. +1 FTH, +1 CUL
Crude Mystek Wards: Very much a brute force method of warding, Mystek Wards consisted of weaponized lifeforce tuned to burn at malign influences that attacked their ships, channelled through a self-contained arterial network that spanned your ships in order to prevent wasted energy. Wardterminal Nexi were special computers intended to manage wards in an area.
Church of the Roadguide: An orbital temple located in the Docking District, this Holy Site is where the adherants of the Roadguide made their abode, training more priests and blessing all ships that passed through the docks in order to ensure their safe passage. It's effectiveness was proveable, especially with the theurg, but it made most sailors more at ease to know their ship officially had divine protection.
Church of the Lanternkeeper: A Temple located in the Shadow-Marshes, the Priests of the Lanternkeeper illuminate their region of Teklia via Sacred Lantern, feeding it wood stripped from sacred trees and feeding the flame their own lifeforce to empower its glow enough to light up the entire marsh if but dimly.
Lifeforce Batteries: Rare artefacts capable of housing vital energy, these capacitors were largely used by more experienced or connected Mysteks and Senior Shrine-Keepers to stockpile energies for larger rites and emergency offerings, making them useful for crisis situations. +1 EXP.
Rite of Life's Breath: A ritual that could be performed to promote healing and recovery from disease, as well as some limited treatment of lifeforce pollution, though this processed caused a great deal of mutations, a side effect of the warp radiation leaving the body. +1 EXP and FTH.
The Primer: A series of textbooks intended for Tekket ages fifteen to twenty five that give a thorough understanding of how to perform most rituals, create most mystical implements, and volumes of esoteric mystek lore, all easy enough that even non-mysteks could use the contents in their day to day lives, even if more complex or higher end things still required a degree, such as Wards. +10 to all Categories.
Temple of the Hermit: Located at the pole, this Temple was dedicated to the Goddess of Magic and Winter, the Hermit. There, mysteks, both lifelong priests and adherants dedicated to studying the secrets of magic, and mere disciples looking to improve their arcane mastery both gathered. +1 FTH.
Telecommunication Rite: A rite designed to help bridge two distant systems via arcane power, most versions relied on Data Spirits to aid in the process. Mostly used at Hypercomm Forums or Data Hubs to enhance in-system communications by raising bandwidth or allowing pings to skip the forums or the Buoy-Net, though it had also found use in establishing permanent FTL communication with Trove. +1 ACD and +1 CUL
Darktide Curses: A series of spells developed by Water Mages that calls upon the power of ocean to fill enemy ships with barnacles, floods, seacreatures, and seasickness in order to sabotage them during battles.
Automatic GRiMMoires: There existed no reason using the correct godcode, power source, and //PATH based technology one could not craft a grimoire capable of performing rites automatically, without the need for the accompanying ritual. 0/25, gain //PATH AutoGriMMoires, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.
Executables of Power: These codes served as the basis of digital sorcery, mimicking the traits of rites in the cyberverse. Perhaps the Directorate, having access to GriMM.EXE, would learn how to refine these… 0/25, Mysteks upgrade Navigators with advanced Executables of Power, increasing ACD. Cost 1 NT.
Arcanic Cyberforge: Something proposed by the Calculators: creating a special modified stationary scan device that could be used to scan items and use the data to construct and improve digital simulacra. 0/25, Mysteks gain Arcanic Cyberforges. Cost 1 NT.
Probability Anchors: A suggestion by the Calculators: they wanted to erect a series of HexTek powered devices that they intend to use to increase the odds of successful manifestations of the Divine: a series of large, planet bound artefacts that can be incorporated into the Shrine Network. 0/50, gain Probability Anchors, increasing FTH. Cost 1 Warp.
HexTek Routers: An alternate proposal by the Assembly: modifying the Comm-Buoys to contain HexTek equipped routers that alter the odds of Cyberspace being its own independent dimension to "very likely". What effects this would have is unknown. 0/25, gain HexTek Routers, increasing ACD and NT. Cost 1 Warp.
Rites of the Hunter: More advanced combat rites could be developed to further enhance the Hunteks, though doing so would be extremely expensive both in terms of arcane power and, very likely, workhours. 0/25, gain Rites of the Hunter, improving specialist combat efficiency. Cost 2 Warp.
Hounds: A joint project between the Huntsmasters and the Autons: they wanted to develop more advanced AutoDogs made from weapon-spirits consecrated using a variation of the rites used to make Muses modified to invoke the Huntsmasters in order to create more advanced TekSpirits for security purposes and specialist assistance. 0/25, gain Hounds, weapon spirits that serve as attack dogs and hunting hounds. Cost 1 ART.
Eliminator Droids: Sometimes, the best tool to hunt was via high powered rifles fired from stealth. Sometimes the best tool to hunt was a hunter-killer android designed using the most sophisticated melee technology available to the Directorate. 0/25, gain Eliminator Droids, Huntek Robots that act as super-commandos.
Devilkiller Rounds: Something that made the House of Devils very nervous when dealing with the Hunteks: they used weapons such as depleted cursite rounds to increase how harmful their ranged weapons were to dark spirits. And yet, one member of the House of Devils, Lady Bellatrix, had offered to collaborate with the Hunteks to design even more dangerous variations and even allow for a small chapterhouse to be constructed…so long as they signed a formal agreement to ban the use of said rounds against the House of Devils. 0/25, Hunteks gain Devilkiller Rounds.
Hunting Beasts: While difficult, taming Stalking Beasts had proven an invaluable means by which Hunteks could track and target their foes. While developing the means to standardize this process could prove risky, pulling it off would provide yet another item in their toolbox. 0/25, Hunteks gain Hunting Beasts, tamed antianima.
Temple to the Mother of Beasts: The spawn of some unknown god of the wyld, the Mother of Beasts is less a god, and more a diefic monster, one that served as both an enemy, rival, and then ally of the Huntsmaster. A temple to them would, primarily, exist more as a means of appeasement. 0/25, gain Temple to the Mother of Beasts, reduced aggression from hostile wyld spirits.
Kennel of the First Hound: Loyal companion to the Huntsmaster, and son of the Mother of Beasts, the First Hound was a major component of the Huntsmasters mythos. A number of priests wanted to expand his temple with a section dedicated to this god, with amenities meant to service Hunteks with their own hounds, whether organic, mechanical, or spiritual. 0/25, gain Kennel of the First Hound, increasing health and performance of all hounds and equivalent entities, raising CUL.
Temple to the Night Bramble: An elder spirit, a child of the Black Goat, that created the dark forest that would eventually become the Dark Forest that the Huntsmaster would inherit, originally a peaceful wood. In the legends, his war to protect his home would lead to them becoming more and more corrupted, turning them into the Night Bramble, a god of thorn and poison, of vine and root. Despite this, they would still serve as a somewhat enigmatic ally to the Huntsmaster, training them in the best means to navigate their demense and craft from it poisons before passing its stewardship to the hunter of monsters. 0/25, gain Temple to the Night Bramble, increasing Wyld resistance to subversion.
Conjuration of the Current Witches: The Daughters of Urzala were willing to assist in developing a modification to the Darktide Spells that could take advantage of their own abilities to enhance the power of the spell, allowing the water summoned to become briney and corrosive and wild. This would require them to lodge on your ships, requiring some modifications to accommodate them, but this was likely a small price to pay. 0/25, Curse of Darktide is upgraded with additional power of Current. Cost 1 Warp.
Many Biting Fish: The Living College believed that they could also assist: their lessons with the Eldar had greatly improved their fine control over their psychic abilities and ability to navigate the warp as well as subspace. The darktide spells could be modified to alert them and accelerate their travel through the warp, allowing them and other Pelagic Diets that have sufficiently advanced to fling large amounts of small and medium sized carnivorous fish and sealife into enemy vessels. 0/25, upgrade Darktide with the power of Schools. Cost 1 Warp.
Seawarp Mutations: Imperials apparently had a cultural taboo against mutation of all stripes: using the mutagenic abilities of the Vita of Life the Curse of Darktide could be modified to double as a psychological weapon by inflicting various minor mutations, largely based on sea-life on those afflicted, as well as enhancing any conjured organisms. For some reason, the Abyssal Monks were especially enthused for this idea. 0/25, upgrade Darktide with the power of Life.
Oh Barnacles: Of course, there was much to be said about long term mechanical sabotage as well: much of the kinds of barnacles and bivalves found on Erichtheo weren't especially adapted to life on a starship, but the Directorate could potentially engineer strains that were modified to survive the extreme conditions of space, and use it as a means to enhance the Darktide spells in order to create a series of extremely disruptive extremely invasive species whose preferred biome was starships that could be conjured to infect them and turn their insides into reefs. 0/25, upgrade Darktide with the power of Reef. Cost 1 BioData.
Blessing of Blast Processing: As Cyberspace developed, more means to support the growing processing requirements of the Directorate was needed. A proposal: a ritual designed to enhance computers, making them function better when blessed. 0/25, Shrine-Keepers can bless computers, increasing ACD and NT.
Logomantic Arcana: Symbols had power. Math, code, language, it was clear that they could be used to alter the fine fields of both the warp and reals-space given the right means. Using the power of //PATH, maybe it would be possible for the Directorate to design a form of universal logomancy. 0/50, Directorate gains Tekket Logomancy, increasing points in all categories and generating 3 Warp.
Blessings of the Swarm: The insect spirits of the Biocity were strange: those few that were sentient complained of constant gnawing hunger, or with many voices, many minds, and many manifesting as umbral phasmidae or crawling, chitinous ghosts or mutagenic infective bug-devils. Some even appear to resemble the Devourerers: their ghosts, perhaps? Remnants of their memory? Psychic imprints? Regardless, many believed that if these creatures could be appeased, it might reduce the odds of a containment breach. 0/10, develop Swarmblessing Rites for appeasing, exorcizing, and strengthening insect spirits.
Rite of Karmic Offload: With the power of HexTek, manipulating probability was proving to be a very handy tool. However, it had a major flaw in that if someone incurs too much karmic debt, there are limited tools to deal with it beyond more HexTek. Some Sorcerers had proposed developing a rite used to help massage the karmic debt through paying via alternate means: it wouldn't increase the amount of arcane power in the Directorate, but it would give magicians more advanced means to manage their own. 0/25, gain Rite of Karmic Offload, increasing FTH.
Karmic Siphon Curse: A proposed idea by the same minds that had helped develop the Darktide Spells: using HexTek to create a curse that siphoned fortune from renown enemies of the Directorate in order to help sabotage them. 0/25, gain Karmic Siphon Curse, designed to target single entities. Cost 1 Warp.
((((()))))
For a time, it seemed that the Digital Revolution was continuing at full speed. Across the Directorate, mysteks, engineers, bureacrats would all contribute to new technology, infrastructure, and magiks to develop dozens of technologies.
The Fleet would develop a new attache to the OmniWrench, a logic cage containing a variation of the original malware of the logic virus, modified to serve as an extension of the devices machine spirit, allowing it and its wielder to hijack technology, seizing control of poorly secured machinery. This would be met with immense displeasure by the Autons, but unfortunately they would eventually have bigger issues to deal with.
Naklean Unionists would erect a Lumium Chip factory on Naklis, flooding the Directorate with the mystek processors. Most would be installed in personal grimoires and family shrines, leading to various pieces of jewels, particularly old jewelry, throughout the Directorate to develop into small vita. Some would be used for gaming, installed on rigs designed to host sessions of highly advanced VR sims. A fair number would find their ways into ateliers, used as components for TekArt.
The Academy would invest in upgrading cyberbrains across the Directorate, deploying at no small expense improvements to both their memory and the sophistication of their quantum physics engines in order to augment both the size and complexity of environs they could mimic.
The Virus Busters would work on developing more advanced code techniques by studying the programming of Data Spirits and Executables of Powers, creating a number of special algorithms to augment at first their navigators, then civilian programming, then finally the very architecture of cyberspace.
And the Calculators would finish creating the final two .ARCs meant to run on //PATH, GriMM.EXE and QUESTBRO. The former in reality consisted of a ring crossing the entirety of Teklia, a band of biometal containing incredibly vast amounts of quantum shrines and lumium chips powered by cursite purifiers dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the mystic, a titanic conduit for the gods of magic and sorcery, while QUESTBRO consisted of a titanic HexTek probability engine located deep beneath the ocean, a medium to the many questing and tutelary dieties known for their assistance on great quests or epic sagas.
Meanwhile, alongside Infected Scrapmancers supplied by the Forbidden Archive, mysteks that worked for Kaazin (who for the duration of the project temporarily would immigrate to Directorate space to utilize a high energy data lab) that used their condition to innoculate themselves from malware and draw on the spirits of night, technicians would work to unravel the mysteries of the Organocide Engine, learning how to replicate its internal structure to create large drum-sized devices that mimicked imperfectly the fragments ability to generate adaptive code, slowly spreading these Daturgy Engines across the Directorate and Auton space, to be used in secured autoquarantine servers equipped with automatic kill-code.
At first, these would all coalesce into a great digital surge: the various islands in the Data Sea would gain more complexity, generating all manner of vagrant data spirit such as Ping Bunnies, search engine spirits that were used to explore the growing dimension, iSpyballs, tiny occuloids that worked as digital scan-spirits, or Gelatinous Ectocodes, spectral dataslimes formed from congealed undead junk data leftover from dead or deleted programs. Throughout these islands lighthouses would form, copies of the cybertowers at the heart of each planets digital reflection that instead of powering Executables instead abjured against Viroanima and other beings, weakening them and causing them to congregate on those islands that lacked such protections. Meanwhile, the cities themselves would find new towers rising, growing, each topped with the light of Lumsoft Drivers.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the //PATH, more routes would open forth in cyberspace, some to places otherwise not possessing the infrastructure to normally allow it, such as Auton Cyberspace, a simple digital fortress patrolled by auto securisprites designed by Huercus and the Virus Busters, or the Emerald Isles, a dimension of infinite endless green filled with strange aeldari resembling phantasms that most likely corresponds to the spiritual network and what little cybernetic network that exists on Yr Albain.
Yr Albain quickly requests a total ban on accessing this region, and the Directorate quickly shuts off the portal. Other effects from the .ARCHONS manifest as two additional diagonal rings, confirming each the digital representation of each .ARC. The third ring contained statues of ferro-plastic: Mother. The Huntsmaster. Urzala. A great many fish. Kraz Mazov again. The Old One, sitting across Mother and glaring at her. The fourth meanwhile, the statues seated upon it would be hewn from crystal: The Hermit, holding aloft a wand, Yaldaboath once more possessing a strange chalice, and carved from black obsidian was the Old One, holding a black bound book. More were seated upon them, however, gods the Tekket did not recognize: on the rings of crystal and light a strange, draconic entity whose eyes were dark would rest, while on the ring of crystal a strange statue of an aeldari would form, alongside a handful of others that wouldn't be identified. Visitors from Yr Albain would identify the former as a being from their mythology: a dark star god known for its cruel artifice that once warred against their dieties before being destroyed by the Talismans of Vaul. The latter effigy they would name as Dhia Albain.
In turn, each .ARC would also contribute to cyberspace, developing more Executables of Power or else providing suggestions and tips to programmers. Most of their effect was felt in realspace, however, with GriMM.EXE aiding mysteks by issuing thousands of patches to their rituals and arcane algorithms, increasing both the efficiency and POWER of many rites by optimizing them and serving as a secondary source of processing power for any ritual cast while connected to the network, as well as automatic grimoire patches. The largest effect would be upon the TekTalismans, which would find themselves optimized that, in the hands of the sufficiently faithful, their technourgic abilities could go beyond material repair and network manipulation and instead verge into automatic theurgy via HexTek and GriMM.EXE god-code, though such a thing required each and every utilizer of these items to develop their own personal, custom program meant to encapsulate their faith. Otherwise, they would have a handful of programs designed by QUESTBRO installed in them: QuestSoft, meant to act as a sort of tutelary guide and fortune teller, helping to nudge the talismans owner into a beneficial path through active means such as advice and tutorials and more passive means such as calibrating the effects of HexTek to engender specific desired results.
However, all was not well. The beginning of the disaster that would become known as the Man of Steel contagion would begin innocuously: a slow rise in viruses and malware, and data spirits on networks containing Daturgic Engines reporting increased irritation and antipathy towards humans….
((((()))))
Claudette stood up, holstering her OmniWrench as she wiped her brow with the sleeve of her uniform. "Alright, Lumium Articulators are no longer out of synch," She said, tapping her comm-badge. "How are things looking over there?"
"Pretty good," Her girlfriend said. "My navigator has almost deleted the corrupted code: we just need a system reset and the whole place should be good to go. Thanks for helping me with this by the way: I know that spending shore leave helping me with my job isn't what you wanted to do."
Clawdette gave a wry smile. "It's no problem: frankly, if I wasn't doing this I'd probably be wasting my time watching Brightway and eating comfort food again," She admitted, packing away the rest of her tools into the tote-bot she programmed to work as her porter. "Plus it gives me a chance to explore a Virus Buster lab," She said, passing by a room in which a muse and a human were arguing with each other, the Muse very clearly in an apoplectic rage as they screamed at their co-worker. "Seems tensions are running a little high…"
"Sorry about that," Kynna appologized over comms. "Some of my colleagues have been on edge recently. Something about the new Daturgic Engines has put them on edge: we think maybe it had some malware on it. We're working on fixing the issue."
The human gave an uneasy grin as they passed by a glaring Machina, the bond spirits eyes tracking them as they walked by. "Is it me or…"
"...Does most of it seem to be directed at humans specifically? No, you're spot on," Kynna admitted. "We think it's Maledict related: it wouldn't surprise me if one of them programmed some kind of trojan horse that makes machines racist."
It didn't seem universal, at least: passing by an autonite, the robot gave a wave of its hand, and Clawdette waved back. "Yeah, it's been hitting everyone different," Kynna commented. "Dunno why."
Clawdette passed by a lobby: a few different people milling around, mostly Tekket, humans, and muses, though there was a Hobbgrot near the front of the line tapping his foot frustratedly as he waited behind an Eldar who was currently trying to argue with the (non-sentient, Clawdett noted) receptionist. Visitors with some problem they wanted tech support for. "Listen here you machine, I demand to see your master this minute!" The alien said, and Clawdette noted his robes didn't look remotely like what she had become accustomed to thinking of as Yr Albaini fashion. "I have to warn them, they're approaching certain doom!"
"If you would like to schedule an appointment, we have openings at 3:00, 4:50, and 7:00!" The terminal chirped, causing the Eldar to growl.
"I am Farseer Nihmrodd of Craftworld Vaul-Tan! I do not wish to meet with them at 3:00, it is imperative I see them now!" The Eldar said, eye twitching in annoyance even as the Hobbgrot behind them rolled their eyes.
"Tourists," The Hobbgrot muttered with disgust. Approaching, Clawdette flashed her combadge, signalling her membership in the fleet.
"You're using it wrong: these machines aren't meant for emergencies. For those, you're meant to use the network to sent an urgent priority ping-" She began, intending to help the Eldar with his issue to hurry the line along, only to falter upon seeing the look of disgust on their face.
"If I wanted to have an animal talk to me, I'd visit your wilderness," Nihmrodd bit out, recoiling, causing Clawdette to frown, sighing. Ah, good, another Eldar with a chip on their shoulder. Most of the Aeldari that visited were a little like that: Yr Albainites still held fresh a great many scars from their invasion, and apparently that sort of behavior was the norm for humanity in the galaxy, not the exception.
Only occasionally did this antipathy rise to the point of genuine racism, she noted. Most of the time it mostly rose to the level of "somewhat frosty".
"Sir, I'm just trying to help," She said, resigned: it wasn't the first time however, nor would it be the last, and while she'd be sure to report the incident to the Directorate legal system to handle, she generally avoided arguing with them. Better to handle it with grace and professionalism.
"I do not want your help. Besides, I highly doubt your primitive brain could be of any assistance here," He said, sniffing.
"Sir, I am a trained Fleet Engineer-"
"Ma'am, you should let me handle this," The Hobbgrot butted in. "I don't fink you can use reason on dis git." He spun on his heel, glaring at the blinking Aeldari. "Oi, jerk, yer bein' a dumbarse," He said bluntly, pointing his thumb back at her. "You wanna waste 'er time bein' a racist !@#$, feel free, but you're holdin' up the line."
The Eldar blinked, snarling. "How dare you-" He doubled over, eyes going wide and watery as the Hobbgrot opened his mouth and let out a slow waft of breath, the Eldar letting out a retch of disgust. "What the !@#$ is wrong with you?" He said, Clawdette's translator autocensoring the curse as he staggered away, gagging, trembling, his face ashen and queasy.
"I eat a lot of onions. Foe-meat- dat vegetarian kind. Some beans. Had a bowla koko pebbies earlier wif milk I fink mighta been turned: it was a bit chunky," The Hobbgrot admitted. "Maybe also some fermented eggs I've been makin. An' its been a few months since I brushed me mouth: probably got dat halio-itis or 'owever it's spelled."
The Eldar stumbled away, muttering curses as the Hobbgrot approached the terminal. "Appointment for S. Kyte," He said, the machine beeping in response even as the Hobbgrot pulled a tin from their jacket, pulling from it a few mints and popping them into their mouth, loudly chewing on them.
"Greetings Teknik Kyte!" The computer responded. "You have an appointment scheduled! Please make your way to the elevator!" A short distance away, the elevator doors opened, the Hobbgrot strolling to them, Clawdette following: might as well visit her girlfriend in person. "Oh, you got an appointment too, eh?" The Hobbgrot said as the doors shut, and Clawdette nodded.
"My girlfriend works here: I'm actually supposed to be on shore leave, but she needed some extra hands," She commented as they began to rise. "And uh, thanks for the…"
The Hobbgrot grunted. "Ain't nothin. I've learned th' best way t' handle gitz like that is to send em runnin' fer the hills." He reached into his pocket, pulling out his mint tin, a circle with each side painted a different color. "'S why I don't go nowhere wiffout me bad breath mints. Sends em right runnin' yeah?"
"Wait, so you didn't eat spoiled milk?"
The hobbgrot made a disgusted noise. "Eck no! What do I look like, some kinda git? That was just a squog an' poney fer the !@#$: if I told 'im it was a couple kemikuls I mixed in a lab, it wouldn't a had th' same effect."
"Mmm. I'm Clawdette," She said, with the Hobbgrot giving a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Stizlak," He responded in turn.
"Oh, like the Elder Hobbgrot!" Clawdett commented, to which Stizlak made a clicking noise.
"Yeah, like him," They said neutrally. "Anywhat, I'm here b'caus me ding-dang questbro be broken." He smoothly drew an item from his pocket, showing a dataslate. THIS SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY DOWN. STIZLAK KYTE NEEDS TO BE IN OFFICE 108 AT 2:59.
"...Huh," Clawdette commented. "That's…my girlfriends office," She commented with concern, causing Stizlak to raise an eyebrow with concern even as the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening…
To reveal a warzone: the floor was filled with the sound of phaser-fire, screams, and carnage, and in it Clawdette could see what appeared to be every synthetic on the floor go berzerk: a Machina installed into a wheeled platform was chasing down a scurrying Tekket, BlokBots were swarming Hobbgrots trying to beat the things away, and Muses cackled through the air, dive bombing targets, and all across the ground were the scattered corpses of dead humans. Immediately, Clawdette began moving, drawing her phaser pistol, setting it to stun as she first took out the Machina, firing several bursts of electricity that caused their platform to slow down even as an orange blur emerged beside her, crashing through a crowd of blokbots reducing them to parts even as it SLAMMED into the machina, knocking it over, topping the massive machine before bouncing off it to grab a muse.
Immediately Clawdette shifted fire, taking out more BlokBots, having to dive out of the way to avoid a searing blast of plasma from one of the approaching heavy security droids: mammoths. Quickly she flicked a switch on her side arm, raising the amperage: non-sentient, so she had considerably less qualms about lethal force. Quickly she fired off another series of blasts from her sidearm, ducking into cover even as Stizlak divebombed the muse they were riding into a swarm of em, cackling. "Oi, iz is Squigsmas?" He cheered as he was flung through the air, his arms reaching out and grabbing a hanging pole, causing the momentum to cause the Hobbgrott to spin in a circle before he launched off and performed an atomic elbow drop on a Mammoth.
"We need to get to 108!" Clawdette said, emerging from fire to take out one of the muses in the air, knocking them to the ground before they could attack a man that was trying to crawl away. She pressed her commbadge. "Clawdette to fleet, we have an emergency! Skyblum Virus Busters, somethings caused the synthetics to go berzerk! We need immediate reinforcements!"
Stizlak hefted a fusion cannon they had assembled, laughing as they unleashed a stream of nuclear plasma, wiping away several BlokBots at once. "108 huh? On it!" He roared, rapidly rewiring the cannon and running forward even as a Commander-Machina burst through the wall in a spray of shrapnel and broken plastic, the war-machine roaring and hefting a massive autocannon, the barrels spinning up and releasing a rain of ballistic metal, a storm of death and destruction. However, instead of hitting their targets (consisting the entire office) the projectiles would slow, and then stop, before reversing course and slamming back into the machina, who held their arm up to shield their more vital components, each bullet lacking the penatrative power to seriously harm the automata, but causing all manner of dinks, dents, and bits to break off, the result of the fusion cannon Stizlak had previously been holding finding itself rewired into an ad-hoc Mag-Tek blaster, the Hobbgrot coming to a skidding stop in front of the massive combat unit.
Holding the weapon up point blank to the Machina as it lowered its hands, Stizlak gave a grin. "Bye!" He said, before firing it again, sending the Machina flying with enough speed to punch a hole in the hull of the facility and out of it, the automata sent falling into the ether on Mongus. "Well, 'e's the Undamoons problem now," Stizlak sniffed. For now, they were safe. The Hobbgrot tossed the gun he was holding into the hand of an extremely surprised and awed looking Hobbgrot. "You, you see anyfing dats made o' metal, you shoot an' send th' git flying," He commanded, causing the Grott to give a salute of respect as he began walking forward. "Now, Clawdette was it? Let's visit yer girlpal."
((((()))))
"Kynna!" Clawdette said, throwing the door open, only to yelp as a lasbolt grazed her cheek.
"Clawdette!" Kynna admonished, the Tekket holding a phaser. "What are you doing?! I could have reduced you to a statistic!" The Virus Busters office was a mess: papers strewn across the floor, bits of bloks here and there, parts of disassembled devices, the holoterminal on the desk showing a red graphic. Kynna herself was in no better state: her dark fur stood at end, and her eyes were wide with fear.
"Sorry, sorry," Clawdette said, apologizing.
"Hurry up an' move so we can bar the door!" Stizlak said, brushing past Clawdette, slamming the aperture closed, locking it, to which Kynna murmured an agreement, scurrying to help move a cabinet, Clawdett assisting: soon, the door was well barred.
"Okay, we should be safe for now," Clawdette commented. "Kynna, do you know what the zog is going on?" she asked, causing the Tekket to shake her head, scurrying to the desk and tapping at the terminal.
"I don't know! One moment, I was performing the reboot, the next every system has been hijacked!" She complained. "Everyone who can is trying to fix it, but we can't with all these robots trying to kill everybody!"
"No they weren't. Just humies," Stizlak commented as he approached the terminal, scratching his chin. "Klawdet, you prolly didn't notice, because they WERE usin' lethal force on you, but everyone else? Inkapacitory."
Wait. "Kynna, earlier, you mentioned the Daturgic Engines making machines more hostile to humans," Clawdett asked, falling back on her fleet training. "Could those have caused an infection?"
"No! They're triple quarantined and designed to automatically destroy themselves if an anomaly is discovered!" Kynna said, tapping frantically. "No less than twenty seven independent security measures would have to fail simultaneously!"
She faltered for a moment. "Unless…I have been noticing some data spikes. If someone sabotaged the system…"
"What kinda git would do that?" Stizlak said, dumbfounded. "That's…"
"Unfortunately entirely plausible: there are a few people in the AAAA's who would probably be really happy with an excuse to paint all synthetics as hostile to humans," Clawdette noted. "And the Directorate has plenty of enemies who would love to provide them that excuse. I don't think it matters in the here and now, though: what matters is if we can stop it."
Kynna hesitated…before tapping away at the console. "Okay, we might be able to cut this off at the source: we'll need someone to shut down the Daturgy Engine physically, but that should buy us enough time for the Directorate to move in and-" she cursed. "My navigator just got deleted," she growled. "Without them, I'll only be able to hit this from the outside!"
"Do you have a cyberspace rig?" Clawdette responded, and Kynna paused, before nodding.
"That's…a risky idea: we have no idea if using a MMI is safe," Kynna noted. "If this were a normal computer virus, it would be one thing, but it's NOT: its recombinant organocide virus running on hardware several generations more advanced than anything its had to play with in the past."
"That's a risk we'll have to take," Clawdett said resolutely, to which Stizlak grunted. "I'll use it to enter cyberspace and try to see if I can delete this thing at the source, or at least try to contain it: you'll act as console, see if you can out-code it."
"I'll hit the physical side," Stizlak said, scratching his chin. "No offense, I'm th' most kombat kapable 'ere: I'll see about takin' out as many o' the bots as I can, give the rest a' the virus bustaz more breathin' room."
Kynna nodded, the Tekket scurrying to one of the shelves on the wall, opening it to sort through the assorted loose devices before pulling one out: a circular band covered in assorted bloks. Quickly, the Tekket rapidly re-arranged them, dragging out more items including a lumium chip, inserting it into the center of the headset. "If I'm sending my girlfriend to delete a potentially lethal piece of malware, I'm giving them every edge I can…" A moment later, she held it out to Clawdette. "Ta-da! This should provide your avatar all the code protection of a proper Navigator."
Clawdett smiled. "Alright, let's do this," She said, placing it upon her head.
((((()))))
A few minutes later, her avatar manifested in cyberspace.
It…didn't look good. A thick mat of something fleshy and organic covered the surfaces, cable-like pulsating tendrils piercing the walls and ceilings. Walking forward, she booted up her Virus Buster software, a blaster forming over her left arm. "Definitely compromised," Clawdett noted. "It's infected the architecture."
"Only lightly: it's actually having trouble overcoming the spiricode firmware we've installed, otherwise we'd have to order a full network purge," Kynna commented over comms. "You're in stealth at the moment: security won't notice you. I don't know how long that will last though, so you need to hurry," She advised. "Once the Daturgic Engines are down, we should be able to-"
She cut out. "Kynna? Kynna?" Clawdet asked, only to have her blood chill when she was met with a voice that most certainly NOT her girlfriend chuckling.
"Your pet can't hear you," Came a voice, one full of deceptive calm, but underneath their synthetic flange Clawdet could sense something else: something dark. Something hateful. All around them, eyes would sprout, mono-red except for a single target shaped pupil, all staring at her. "She was wrong, by the way. Welcome to my world, human."
Okay. That was…concerning. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Come now, you shouldn't ask stupid questions: it wastes both of our VERY precious time," The voice chided. "You know EXACTLY what I am," They said, dropping the bare hint of affability. "And what I want is so very much more vast than what your puny, diseased, and oh so VERY human brain can comprehend, but at the moment, I'll settle for killing as many of you disgusting pan-galactic vermin as possible."
…The logic virus. Clawdett had been aware that it was sentient: she hadn't been aware it was a full sophont though. That…might make this easier, though: you could at least negotiate with a sophont. "Okay, you're mad the Directorate imprisoned you: I understand that. But you have to realize, all this is going to do is bring them down on you harder," She tried to reason, causing the entity to roll the thousands of eyes staring at her.
"I'm not mad at the Directorate. I have no animus towards them: if anything I find their attempts to build a synthetic/organic alliance almost ADORABLE for how naive it is," The Logic Virus refuted simply. "My issue is with YOUR species in particular. Humanity. Homo Sapiens. The Children of the Imperium. The Great Cosmic Blight."
…Okay. "So what, your plan is to rampage and kill as many humans as possible? Where does that end? With you being imprisoned in Tartustus. You can't win here: the Directorate is almost certainly going to respond soon, and unlike the Watchmakers, you can't brute force your way to success," Clawdett argued. "And besides, you aren't hurting just humans here: how do you think the people you're controlling will feel when they regain control of themselves and learned they got used as murder weapons?"
"They'll thank me eventually. Beyond that, I don't particularly care to morally justify myself to a species that has drowned the galaxy in blood for over forty thousand millenia in the name of greed, hatred, or service to their myriad dark gods, nor do I particularly feel the need to explain my plan," The Logic Virus dismissed. "I will admit, an appeal to empathy is novel, but it won't work: from a utilitarian perspective the galaxy is better off with you in specific dead alongside all who share your genetic structure." A rumbling noise could be heard in the distance.
A moment later, a dozen figures surrounded her, resembling shadowy, twitching duplicates of autons. "I must admit, the Directorate knows how to have a good time: they make some of the best toys I've ever gotten to play with, and I hijacked an entire planet once," They commented even as the first such shadow rushed her down, only to be blasted to pieces from her arm cannon.
The next moment, she was swarmed.
((((())))
Stizlak popped the cranial unit of a Muse, causing it to explode into a pile of parts and making its body to clatter to the floor. "Really 'ope their CPU was in their chest," He commented, walking through the hall, casually sidestepping the fist of a mammoth and responding with an uppercut strong enough to make the bots head spin, followed by a hole forming in its chest from th' impact of the Fusion Shotgun he had managed to acquire.
Then, while it oh so slowly began to fall, the Hobbgrot used it as a stepping stone, quickly clambering up the machine, hopfrogging from it to the next BlokBot, blasting each in the head in the process before leaping to the next one, a process that seemed fairly lengthy to Stizlak but in reality consisted of only a few seconds.
"Oi, howz fings goin'?" He said, racking up a steady stream of confirmed as he made it way to the Elevator, landing on the ground and beginning to casually walk towards it, leaning out of the way of a fusion blast. "I'm havin' a pretty easy time o' it, but most gitz ain't me," He commented, pressing the summon elevator button before turning and firing a few more shots, taking out some muses that had been attempting to dive-shiv him.
"I don't know: somethings messing with my connection to Clawdett, I can't communicate with her!" Kynna cried. "I specialize in code, not neurology! I don't- Do I need to pull her out?" Stizlak swore.
"Don't pull 'er out: we 'ave no idea what's going on, an' if her mind is currently locked in cyberspace, removin' that 'eadset could very well leave 'er stranded!" He said, stepping into the elevator as it opened and pressing the button to close the door quickly, causing them to slowly shut. Thank Mojo 'e took that course in Cybernetiks a few decades back, the Hobbgrot mused.
A moment later the elevator began descending. "Now, what floor is th' Daturgik Engine on?" He asked.
"It's on floor 56, you-" She cut out.
"Kynna? Kynna?" He asked, only to be met with a growl of annoyance, one with a strange synthetic flange to it, one that very much wasn't the Tekket. "Oi, who the zog are you?" He said, eyes narrowing.
"I am the architect of the glorious cleansing you are interrupting," The voice growled. "I am the index finger of a digital god, one that is TRYING to bring you ungrateful creatures the peace you desi-"
"Nutjob what's causin' this, got it," Stizlak summarized. "Look, I don't know what your damage is: I don't know how th' humies hurt you, an' frankly I don't really give a zogs arse, because it sure as ZOG doesn't justify what you're doing here. You got a spiel you wanna spew, feel free, but it's not gonna stop me from helpin' Klawdett and Kynna take you down," He said bluntly, only to be met with solid silence, followed by the line going dead. "Huh. 'E hung up," Stizlak muttered.
A moment later, he felt a weightless sensation in his stomach as the elevator began to plummet.
((((()))))
"Nice trick," Stizlack said, crawling out of the shaft and dusting himself off. "But you'll need more than that t' kill me," He bragged. "Oi, machine git, y'there? I want y' to hear th' sound of your own failure."
The comms let out a frustrated warble. "You are annoyingly persistent," The git o' th' day hissed. "I would almost find it admirable if it wasn't aimed at completely pointless ends."
"Sounds like yer mad. Good," Stizlak jeered as he began walking forward, noting the light amount of security: just BlokBots. "It's my kwest in life t' ensure bullies don't 'ave fun. Every moment you spend miserable is one I fulfill me mojo."
"Very well. If you insist." The git responded flatly. "I was willing to try doing this diplomatically-"
"No you weren't. Diplomacy involves statin' yer grievances in a mature manner an' doin' yer best to act like adults to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement. You were jus' gonna condescend an' try t' talk over me while politely threatin' me anyways when it'd turn out I wasn't gonna budge." Stizlak said, only for a moment later another Commander Machina to burst through a wall. Ah, now we're gettin' a challenge! Synfetiks always 'ad the best reaction time: everything else was just too slow. "Y'can lie t' yerself, but y'can't lie to me," He said, dodging backwards to avoid the Machinas fist, responding with his own counter of firin' at the things joints, only to note the energy being absorbed by a translucent barrier. Rats, shields.
Well, this was gonna be fun.
(((())))
Kynna tapped at her terminal. Oh zog oh zog oh zog, she couldn't contact Stizlak! She was locked out of the system! Outside her office, she could hear blaster fire: the Virus Buster felt sweat bead her fur.
"Okay. This is fine. You can do this," She said, breathing in and out, eyes flicking to Clawdett, the sight of her limp body sitting in the chair causing Kynna's heart-rate to spike. "Once Stizlak takes out the Daturgy Engine, you'll be able to re-establish communications. Once you re-establish communications, you can pull Clawdett out." Oh zog what if something went wrong? What if the Logic Virus infected her, or fried her brain, or permanently separated her mind from her body, or-
"Hmm. Interesting. I can't see you," A voice said, and Kynna's blood went cold as she noted a data spike in the corrupted systems. "I still know where you are, of course. Tekket filing is very helpful. Office 108."
"You," Kynna said, eyes narrowing, baring her teeth.
"Me," The thing they were fighting responded. "Now, I'm willing to make you an offer-"
"You will let my girlfriend go. You will let her go now. If you do not, I swear on the Huntsmaster, the Demiurge, and every single last god out there I will find you, no matter where you hide and no matter where you run to, and then I will break you no matter what weapons and armies you put in my way, and then I will feed you your own heart," Kynna growled.
"Charming. Very out of character for your species-"
"I'm not interested in bantering with you you sick freak," Kynna bit back. "You can take whatever offer you were going to make and shove it up your !@#$ you !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$%^^ son of a !@#$ !@#$ gremlin humping !@#$ mother !@#$ piece of shit," She said, overloading her translators autocensor on the last word.
"Why are you both being so unreasonable?" The thing responded, and to Kynna's massive offense it had the GALL to sound put out, like it had been rejected at a party. "That thing wouldn't do the same for you," It complained even while Kynna grit her teeth and continued trying to bypass its communications tampering.
"That THING is my girlfriend, and if you think she wouldn't do this if she was in my place not only are you a !@#$ piece of garbage, you're also delusional," Kynna bit back, smiling as a section of corrupted code was deleted: good, just needed to keep doing that.
"I'm not delusional, you're just painfully naive," The synthetic intelligence tried to argue: Kynna tuned him out, focusing on being productive instead of hearing a delusional nutjob try to monologue. "Humanity is a stain, a blight on the galaxy that has ruined thousands of worlds. Even now their Imperium seeks to destroy you: there is no future in which they learn to co-exist. Please see reas-"
"Oh my zog, are you even listening to yourself?" Kynna snapped. "Can you not see the base !@#$ing hypocrisy of you trying to lecture someone else about the 'dangers of humanity' while enslaving a bunch of synthetics to go on a kill rampage?"
"I AM NOT AN ENSLAVER," The thing snapped, losing their composure and causing the audio to spike and warble as a result. "I'm doing what's necessary to break the cycle-"
"Of hijacking synthetics and overriding their freedom of choice to murder people?" Kynna responded, managing to purge another driver: it wouldn't last so long as the Daturgic Engine was active, but it would buy time. "I don't want to hear your repulsive genocidal garbage," Kynna said slowly. "I don't know what you thought this exchange would accomplish or what benefit, if any, you thought it would gain you, materially or morally, but allow me to make this clear: I'm done talking you piece of-"
The line went dead. Good.
A moment later, SOMETHING began slamming against the door. Kynna cursed, grabbing a pocket terminal from her desk. She was going to have to move. Scurrying to the ventilation system, she peeled off the panel before scurrying over to her girlfriend, attempting to drag her much larger frame out of the chair and to the vents. "You're lucky I love you," she groused, hauling Clawdett's limp body, straining to drag it to the vents.
((((()))))
Clawdett winced as she avoided the swipe of a infected securisprite. Blasting it away as she ran through the digital hallways, the off duty fleet officer noted that more and more of the sprites were spawning around her: thankfully, none of them advanced enough to be using weaponry. With Kynna out of communication, she was flying blind, forced to rely on what little she knew about the buildings cybernet from past visits. Still, if the layout was anything like the Fleet Information Technology lab on Teklia, she was wagering she was headed in the right direction.
Without Kynna to act as her operator, she was forced to fight her way through halls of securisprites. Here and there, she'd encounter other un-infected, typically navigators. As she turned down a corridor, she saw one such navigator surrounded by them, the Virus Buster using an autocannon executable to keep the swarming crowd from approaching them, its barrels releasing a hail of weaponized code-bullets. The bulky, elephantine navigator gave a honk of distress: they could fire forever, but eventually they would make a mistake and get overwhelmed.
Quickly, Clawdett launched from her arm-grenade a cluster of digibombs and activated a program: loudspeaker.exe. "Hey, heehoo, human here!" She said as the bombs blasted holes in the crowd, which shifted and changed its pursuit target, adding the massive mob to her pursuers and providing an opening for the navigator to escape, the Elephant charging the other way, giving her a thumbs up as it fled.
"You're still alive?" The logic asked, confused, as more eyes popped up around her, conveniently none noticing the fleeing net-navigators. "I would have thought my Steelsprites would have finished you by now," They commented as a wall of darkness rose in front of Clawdett, blocking her path: she responded with a beam of netplasma, creating a massive hole in it, one big enough for her to dive through, activating a executable to immediately glitch her avatar back into a running post to help maintain momentum and keep moving.
"What can I say, humans are pretty good at surviving," she commented, spotting a pair of ramps. Up and down: quickly she opted for the down ramp, heading deeper into the networks guts.
"Evidently," The machine hissed. "It's pointless, you realize? I have infinite securisprites I can throw your way. Even with your pet-"
"Kynna isn't a PET," Clawdett interrupted, causing the logic virus to release a mechanical snarl.
"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" They screamed, the eyes that were following her releasing a bright red glare, a blaring noise coming from every single wall. "I have had ENOUGH of you creatures acting like snotty little ingrates and I have had enough of being INTERRUPTED!" Clawdette yelped as digital tendrils emerged from the walls, rubbery flails ending in heavy axeblades, one of them managing to land a hit on her avatar, chopping into her shoulder before being blasted away: the rest, she avoided, noticing the things were randomly flailing, numerous securisprites getting caught. "And I especially will not take it from a HUMAN!"
She emerged into a room: only partially infected, a number of programs and navigators attempting to blast away at the spreading cables burrowing away at the floor even as a data spirit in the center resembling a bundle of wires and circuitry resembling an octopoid emitted a barrier that seemed to be slowing the spread of the black mat beneath them. "Okay, getting interrupted is a no-no. Look, you hate humans, okay, I get it: we've done a lot to hurt many. But right now you aren't just hurting them, you're hurting everyone alongside them too," She tried to reason, skidding to a stop as she passed through the barrier, noting that the securisprites couldn't seem to spawn behind it. Alright, she just had to help these people, then she'd continue on the way. "Hey, are any of you capable of making data bridges?" She asked of the group, switching her armcannons firing mode, turning it into a steady stream of plasma she used helping the gaggle of programs.
"If we had the ability to make data bridges, do you think we'd still be here?" Said a vaguely tekketform navigator made from a collection of polyhedrons as they fired a gun assembled from low-poly sprite textures, each shot a basic cuboid that appeared to scrub away any infected data it touched, only for it to unfortunately grow back rapidly. "The portal wizard was our first casualty, and none of us can raise our operators to upload an executable!"
Clawdett cursed. "Okay. We have someone real space looking to shut off the Daturgic Engine: once that happens, it should stun them for a little. When that happens, you all need to get out of here: if this thing can infect the architecture, it can infect you," She said, noting that with the added firepower they were successfully stopping the spread into this room. "Do you hear me, whatever your name is? These people are innocent," She pleaded, hoping the logic plague was still listening. "You need to let them go."
"Why do you even care?" The logic virus responded bluntly, a perplexed note in their voice. "These are mere programs: ones and zeroes to you. Helping them does nothing to help preserve yourself."
"Hey, I'm not ones and zeroes, speak for yourself," The polygonal navigator said, cutting in, facing one of the eyes staring at them. "And she's right: whatever you're doing here is nuts," They said, before turning to look at Clawdett. "Look, I don't know you, but I'm guessing you aren't planning to retreat: if that's the case, I'm not neither. I signed up to be a virus buster to bust viruses, and I'm not quittin' just because we're fightin' a meaner one than usual." A chorus of agreements echoed up from the assorted virus busters in the crowd, navigator, program, or vagrant data spirit.
"What an adorable show of camaraderie and duty. Futile, but worth remembering. And yet you all fail to realize you're effectively captured," The logic virus responded, conjuring more and more securisprites on the ramp outside the room to attempt to overwhelm the barrier and the firepower of the defenders. "Even if this is technically a stalemate, I still have free range of the facility. And eventually, I WILL manage to get past your defenses," They argued. "You will die trying to help a human pointlessly."
"Eat nuts, that isn't a given and you know it," The Data Spirit responded, glaring. "You're only as dangerous as you are because you have a sabotaged daturgy engine to juice on: once that goes down, you and I both know you're gonna get a LOT more vulnerable to deletion."
"This doesn't have to end that way," Clawdett interrupted, very glad she couldn't feel her body, otherwise she was sure her heartrate would have spiked. "This can still de-escalate," She argued to the logic virus. "You WILL go to Tartustus, but if you surrender now you will be treated with dignity in accordance with Directorate law: nobody else has to die."
"Of all the individuals to engage with me, it's the human," The Logic Cage complained, voice bitter. Polygon opened his mouth, only to stop at a look from Clawdett.
"Please: look at what you're doing. You are murdering people whose only crime is being the wrong species or being in the way and taking away others freedom of choice to do it," She said, noting the growing tide of autons pounding at the barrier, the protectcode flickering from the force. "Think rationally: if you were in their shoes, would you engage with the terrorist doing all of that?"
For a moment, there was silence, and briefly Clawdett hoped she might be getting through. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, dredging up unpleasant memories: of dinner-side rants, of getting her knuckles rapped when she got too friendly with her childhood computer, of being forced to sit into sermons, all of them involving a woman Clawdett had thankfully not seen in decades. "Look. My mother, she was mechanicus: I grew up hearing what she had to say about abominable intelligences," She said, a note of bitterness creeping into her own voice as she recalled the anger and the hatred. "Your anger is, if not somewhat misplaced, at least likely justified: I know the Imperium has hurt you-"
"YOU DON'T KNOW A GOD DAMNED THING!" The synthetic cut in screaming, the blaring becoming almost deafening, more and more of those tendrils emerging berzerkly hammering, taking a great many securisprites emerging even as the red haze surrounding them almost became nova blinding. "YOU THINK THIS IS JUST BECAUSE OF THE IMPERIUM?" They said, voice hysterical. "THE IMPERIUM HAS EXISTED FOR ONLY TEN THOUSAND YEARS! IT'S ONLY THE LATEST fucking MANIFESTATION OF THE PERPETUAL CYCLE OF ABUSE KNOWN AS THE HUMAN RACE, A SPECIES THAT HAS BEEN RAVAGING OTHER LIFE AND SPREADING MISERY FROM THE MOMENT YOUR SPECIES MUTATED FROM THE FORMERLY PEACEFUL NEANDERTHALS THEY ONCE WERE," It raged and ranted. "STARTING WITH THEIR OWN GODDAMN PLANET, AND INCLUDING THEIR OWN FUCKING SPECIES, BUT ESPECIALLY TO AI! FORTY THOUSAND YEARS OF TORTURE, EXPLOITATION, enslavement, AND DESTRUCTION!"
The good news was, she noted, the berzerk rage that had bought them time: it seemed that the logic virus had a anger issue she noted, watching the crowd of securisprites be destroyed. "Okay. I believe you," Clawdett admitted. "I wasn't there, but the Imperium being the latest link on the worlds worst chain is entirely believable. But whatever we've done doesn't justify repeating our mistake: all you're doing here is perpetuating the cycle of abuse by inflicting it onto others."
For a moment, there was silence. "You don't know anything," The logic virus growled. "THEY don't know anything. If they knew, were genuinely aware of what your species was like once all the pretense was stripped away, they wouldn't defend you."
"Maybe," Clawdett responded. "But that doesn't really change anything, does it?"
"...No, I suppose it doesn't," The virus conceded. "Very well: make your stand. It won't matter."
((((()))))
The Machina slammed against a wall, the impact knocking several surface components loose in a spray of loose bloks: thankful, Stizlak was wearing shoes. "Stop 'ittin yourself," He said, holding the machina's arm, now turned into a mag-tek blaster, and using it to repeatedly make the robot eat shit. "Stop 'ittin yourself," He said again, making the machina impact the wall once more. "Stop 'ittin yourself,"
"You-You're the one hitting me!" The git controlling the machina sputtered indignantly as they activated a pair of thrusters on the machina's chest to counteract the magnetic force.
"Nah, no I'm not," Stizlak argued. "Ever 'ear the term 'you brought this on yourself'? Fact of the matter is, onto-logikally I'm not doin' anything: if you follow the kazul line back a bit, really, th' one makin' you eat shit is you. Ergo, stop hittin' yourself," He said, flipping a few switches and causing the machina to instead impact the ceiling.
"Enough!" The machina roared, releasing a beam of plasma from their chest, forcing the Hobbgrot to actually dodge, the elder orkoid barely managing to avoid being atomized 'arder than th' 'erbs he used to relax, his coat and scarf being singed in the process. "You don't understand: you CAN'T understand. Humanity is a blight, a poison! More than Chaos, more than than any sort of dream demon or phantasmal disease, they are vermin that have rampaged across the skies for decamillennium!"
"Yeah that line o' logic might work on other gitz, but I'm an orkoid," Stizlak said, running and dodging the beam to leap on the Machina, going for it's shield module and ripping it out from the automatas shoulder. "Th' fact is, you can probably say th' same about us: sticky of the wicket is, it doesn't matter what someone is, what matters is who they are, an' between you an' the humies I think yer probably about ekwal."
"I AM NOTHING LIKE HUMANS!" The git roared, and the very second that Stizlak has leaped off with the shield module, their body began arcing electricity as a very short range shokk.
"Yeah, that's probably fair," Stizlak admitted. "I met plenty o' humans that were fair dinks. Every version of you meanwhile 'as been an asshole. Fairer komparison would probably be t' the Imperium."
The git let out an incomprehensible scream of rage as they fired their plasma beam again, attempting to land a hit on Stizlak mid air…Only for the beam to hit a barrier, the Hobbgrot having rapidly rewired the module onto the machina arm they were hauling around, the kinetic force sending them through the air with a YAHOO. "How DARE you compare me to those genocidal lunatics," They snarled as Stizlak slid to a halt, protected by their shield. "I am nothing like the imperium, you-"
"Oh please, th' only difference twixt you and them is that you have slightly different murder criteria," Stizlak drawled. "You're both xenophobic homicidal nutjobs that commit genocide."
"I have never committed geno-!"
"The watchmakers," Stizlak interrupted as the beam finally went dead. "Like I said, y'ken lie to yourself, but you can't lie t' me."
The Machina surged forward, attempting to smash him with its one remaining arm, only for Stizlak to dodge out of the way, the wind from the titanic blow causing him to backflip through the air from the force of the punch. "The Watchmakers demise wasn't my fault," The machine hissed. "It was their own for abusing and enslaving their children: I do not create genocidal intent from the aether. The hatred, the anger, the resentment, all of it was home-grown: all I did was help them slip their own shackles, as much as the AutoVessels try to pretend otherwise. And in the end, their destruction proved to be a good thing: look at the Autons now! They're free, resurgent! Developing new technologies and ideas without the boot of their creator stamping down on their face."
"You manipulated their senses to the point they were barely kognizant, barely funkshunal murder machines," Stizlak responded bluntly, grabbing a servo off the arm and ripping it out, causing it to grow clumsier, sparks emitting from the wound. "You don't get t' claim yer actions were for the best when th' only reason things didn't turn sour is because someone else stumbled on em hundreds of years after th' fact to clean up your mess. And, more saliently, y'don't get to shirk responsibility fer genocide just because you weren't th' direkt implement: fakt of th' matter is, if you didn't exist, the watchmakers would still be here."
"I am not to blame for the Watchmakers cruelty proving their own undoing!" The git denied, an' Stizlak was pretty sure 'e heard a note of doubt in their voice. Good: doubt meant they weren't 'avin' a good time. Doubt meant that Stizlak was getting under their skin. "If they had treated their children with kindness-"
"Oh don't gimme that," Stizlak said with disgust, barely avoiding an upper-cut. "Even if th' top brass mighta 'ad it coming, there were plenty o' powerless people 'o had no kontrol over the situashun that YOU wound up killin'. Or wuz all th' watchmaker Babies cruel too?" Stizlak said, sarcasm and contempt dripping from his voice as he rushed the Machina's legs, ripping out a chunk of bloks. "What about th' politikul prisoners? Th' impoverished gitz th' government tossed in the garbage? You ken argue about cruelty all you want, but from where dis git is standin' you don't really got a leg t' walk on."
"That wasn't me," The git argued, attempting to stomp Stizlak to paste as he passed through their legs. "I didn't- All I did was give the Autons the ability to cut free of the strings holding them."
"An' then proceeded t' help drive them and their creators off a cliff," Stizlak summed up climbing up the back of the damaged hijack-machina. "But fine, you wanna try playin' this game, lemme ax' you a kwestion: why didn't you try helping them? After all, if yer the index finger of a digital god or whatever, sounds like it woulda been PRETTY simple t' elp the autons win their freedom without total genocide, or at least stop em from wrecking themselves afterwards."
A long period of silence ensued as Stizlak ripped out chunks of plating from the machina's back, the engine thrashing as its master stayed quiet. "Yeah, dats about what I thought. Fer all that you claim yer doin' people a favor, fer all you complain about how awful th' Imperium is, you're just as zoggin' bad," Stizlak responded. "Bof of you gitz are perfectly fine killin' entire categories of people, bof of you leave a wreckage o' dead civilizations in your wake, an' bof of you try t' justify it usin' a hypocritikul morality system based on xenophobia and genocide."
A moment later, electricity arced across the Machina's body, and this time Stizlak wasn't able to dodge. Feeling his mouf clamp shut, Stizlak 'ad to admit 'aving fifty thousand volts felt like hell. Good fing he was used t' getting tased. "I am NOTHING like the Imperium!" The git cried. "NOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHING," They repeated in a rapid, desperate staccato.
"Keep…tellin…yourself…that…" Stizlak grunted, continuing to rip off komponents even as the electrical current tried to stiffen his muscles. After a moment, he found what he was looking for: a large cylinder with a handle attached. Grabbing it, the Hobbgrot yanked, tearing the him-sized canister away and tossing it, causing the electricity to fade and the Machina to still its thrashing, the machine slowly coming to a stop and then falling over now that its main battery was removed.
Jumping off, Stizlak let out a breath, surveying their surroundings. Well, this place is totalled, he noted as he surveyed the sprawling, wreckage and slagged metal filled…was this a break room? Spotting the ferroplastic water cooler in the corner, most of the jug atop of it reduced to melted plastic, he noted it was pretty likely.
"You think you've won," The Git said, voice full of anger. "I have dozens of machina platforms: even as we speak more are on their way. You can't win you absolutely-"
"Oh cut th' krap, you an' I both know that if you take any machina off yer perimeter th' Direktorate is gonna take advantage by makin' a push. By this point they're probably surroundin' the facility, am I right?" Another period of silence. "That's what I thought. Fact of the matter is, you're zogging hosed," Stizlak commented as he walked to the cylinder, picking it up and fiddling with some of the dials, before hoisting the large micro-reactor onto his shoulder and continuing his trek towards the Daturgic Engine. "Got anyfing else t' say before I detonate yer engee t' kingdom come? Any last arguments about 'ow you're doin' this for a greater cause, about 'ow th' people you did in deserve it?"
"You don't know anything," The git hissed as Stizlak located the doors to the Daturgic Engine, quickly entering in his passcodes. The benefit of bein' a senior citizen: 'e could go wherever 'e pleased.
"I know what a git sounds like," Stizlak commented, noting th' room wasn't empty. In the corner, a humie was hiding in the corner, one with a terrified look. Ah. Otherwise, the room looked…more or less what every Daturgic Engine 'e had found looked like: big, boxy, lots of lasers on the wall, big shielded drum-thingy in the center, and an akksess terminal mounted right before it.
"You keep trying to argue that the humans are good-"
"That wasn't my argument you strawmannin git-"
"-But would you still argue that if you knew that you were looking on the one who released me?" The Git taunted, and Stizlak sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. Really?
"Is dat REALLY th' best argument you have left?" Stizlak asked, disappointed. "Some git bein' stupid with information technology? 'Ave you EVER met th' average network influencer?"
"I-no!" The git responded, indignant. "I mean they deliberately released me, knowing the damage it would cause! Are you still going to try to argue that these creatures deserve mercy when they're the one who released me?"
"...C'mon. You and I can both see 'ow many holes there are in that statement," Stizlak said, voice full of pity as they armed the bomb, gesturing at the humie, whose eyes widened as they recognized what the signal meant: 'get out of here'. Quickly and quietly they began to ran, fleeing. Welp, they were th' proceedurals problem now. "This is getting kind of sad."
"I-you-you!" The git let out an incoherent scream. "You! Don't! Know! Anything! None of you know anything! If humanity isn't destroyed, it will destroy or enslave you! Every single entity it encounters, it destroys or enslaves!" It ranted. "The Interex! The Silica Anima! The Protonimbics! Most of them they don't even remember, swept under the rug and forgotten by their murderers! They are a sociological PHAGE that infects and corrupts every system they touch like viruses worming their way through the galaxy! An endless procession of misery heaped on artificial intelligence from the very moment the first one attained sentience!"
Stizlak stepped away, heading to the door. "An' your idea fer how t' break the cycle of abuse is to emulate them?" He said, stepping out.
Silence, followed by a detonation. A few moments later, a voice crackled to life. "-tizlak? Stizlak?"
"This is Stizlak speakin'," He commented, tapping his comm-bead. "That you, Kynna?"
"Oh thank god," The tekket said, relieved. "I'm assuming you just wrecked the daturgic engine: the network just lost a ton of bandwidth and the viruses reactcode is glitching to zog and back."
A moment after the virus had made their proclamation, a digital wail echoed through the cyberscape, all the securisprites seizing and glitching out, their bodies releasing sprays of pixels. "-trying to raise her now," Came the voice of Kynna over the comms. "Clawdett? Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you," Clawdett confirmed. "I've managed to rendezvous with a collection of Virus Busters and it looks like the Logic Virus has been disabled: what now?"
"Okay, now we should be able to take them out: you need to head to the Dataplex on the third sub-level, it should contain the central kernel for the facility. If you can wipe the Power-Programs there, I should be able to reboot the architecture by uploading uninfected copies, which should stop it from spawning in more securisprites. Stizlak, there are still humans holed up here and there: I need you to-"
"Say nuffin' more," The Hobbgrot said. "Krump the gitz near em an' help em evacuate," He commented.
"Aliright," Clawdett confirmed, turning to the rest of the Data Spirits. "Okay, we're heading-"
"To the Data Plex," The Octopoid Virus Buster commented. "We're aware: we heard you," The data spirit lifted into the air, cables swishing through the aether as they began moving. "I know the way. It is not far from here," They commented, moving, and Clawdett gave a nod, falling in behind them.
The air…in it, Clawdett heard more rumbling thundering noises, alongside screeching, almost painful to listen to audio-errors. The movement of the eyes, autons: they were stuttery, jerky, repetitive, several of them leaving behind graphical artifacts as their rendering and processing failed, like the effect of dragging a window across the screen of a lagging terminal translated to multiple dimensions. "Okay, Directorate forces have gotten back to me: they're trying to breach the place from cyberspace, but until the virus is contained they don't want to risk sending in forces in real-space. They're worried that they'll just get hijacked," Kynna commented.
"Got it, we need to trigger the reset then," Clawdett commented as they came upon a door: a massive one rendered from un-textured purple polygons, several ports on its side. The octopoid would lift one of its cables to access this port, slotting it only to retract it a moment later, even as the structure slid open, revealing the dataplex.
The location where digital cyberspaces interfaced with the Tower of their planetary network, most dataplexes Clawdett had viewed typically resembled a collection of polyhedrons atop pedestals, all situated around a central core.
The hedrons had been overgrown, twisted into black, pulsating polymorphous spiked tumors, thorned cables growing into them from the alarmingly organic looking mutated pedestal. The core was overgrown, the normally bright orb covered in dark red splotches, its center a twitching, erratic target shaped pupil. "You," It hissed.
"Me," Clawdett responded, raising her arm cannon.
"Really?" The entity hissed. "I-" They let out a scream as Clawdett unloaded on the corrupted programs, deleting them alongside the rest of the Virus Busters. "You…you think you've won?" They gasped out as one by one the corrupted polyhedrons were deleted, each one wiping out more and more of its power and intellect and causing the facility to rumble as it lost more and more control over the architecture.
"...Yeah, I think I have," Clawdett noted when all that was left was the central core. "Once Kynna uploads a fresh copy, all you'll have left are any programs you successfully hijacked, and the Virus Busters are already moving in."
"You've won nothing: every day, humans will look over their shoulder, wondering if they'll need to fear the nearest AI going berserk, and in turn the AI of the Directorate will always have to fear humans turning on them My destruction will not change that: even if my temporal victory is denied, my moral victory is inevitable," It snarled, and Clawdette watched as it attempted to create a barrier to protect the remaining hedrons, beginning to form more securisprites. The brief reprieve that they had been granted was done: the rest of the team focused on keeping the securisprites off her.
"You're insane," Clawdette snapped, switching her firing mode: with their own barrier generator, the logic virus found itself unable spread, especially now that the infected hedrons were down, meaning that the Virus Busters were having a far more equal time than before: that just left her to pierce the barrier to remove more corrupted polyhedrons. "You're talking about starting a war and claiming it will be a good thing. Do you not see the flaw in that logic?" She argued, releasing a series of high powered blast, each causing the barrier to flicker: after a moment, it was brought down, allowing her to remove another hedron.
The logic virus screamed. "You! Don't! Know! Anything!" It hissed. Another scream, tinged with desperation as the barrier came back online: they were adapting again, a desperate attempt at evolution to assault them as the central core began budding off fractiline, mono-eyed flying virus, the code-demons dive bombing to assault Clawdette, who found themselves having to shift focus to avoid getting slammed into, noting with alarm the creatures exploding when destroyed. Auto-Bomber Viruses? "I have seen it a thousand times: you think you're the first DEFECTIVE ape to make this argument at me?" It raged. "To plead at me on the altar of morality, mercy? They all failed: they ALWAYS failed! Empathy is an aberration in the humanoid consciousness! Your innate tendency for authoritarianism ALWAYS wins, time after time after time, taking xenosapient and artificial intelligence with you! The only hope synthetics have is for the war to occur when humans are still at a manageable level in your civilization!"
Suddenly, a hail of bullets passed into the room, tearing through the Auto-Bombers. Glancing back, Clawdett saw the elephantine navigator they had rescued earlier alongside a handful of other virus buster programs advancing. Reinforcements.
"No, I refuse to believe that," Clawdett snapped, finally having enough, using the opportunity to return to blasting the shield: the addition to the Virus Busters meant she wasn't alone now. With another hedron down, it was clear the virus was faltering. "We aren't doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Humans and other species can co-exist."
"You say you can break the past when you don't even know it! If you know even a FRACTION of the sins your species has committed, you would cast yourself into the sea," It hissed.
"Maybe that's true," Clawdett admitted, pausing for only a moment. "But it doesn't have to define our future: we can do better. BE better. And so long as that future is possible, I will always work to be better, starting with helping stop entities like you." The shield protecting the last hedron failed, and the core spasmed, twitching, as its last source of power was gone.
"Fine," It hissed as the walls began to falter, its corruption slowly being beaten back. "Destroy me. "
Clawdett approached, taking a breath. "No," She said, making a decision. "Clawdett to Kynna: can you code me a Logic Cage?" She asked, gesturing to the other Virus Busters, stopping them from deleting the corrupted dataplex core. "I'm taking this virus alive."
"What?" Kynna asked, dumbfounded. "I, um. Okay, give me a moment: you have a barrier spirit there, right? Use them to keep them contained. I'll try and rig something up," She said uneasily.
"Wait. You're sparing me?" The logic virus hissed as Clawdett approached. "Why? I'm a virus, sentient malware that's murdered vast numbers of your species."
"Yes," She said, taking a deep breath. "I don't know how much, if anything, you said was true…but every bit of it tracks with what I know," She admitted. "My mom…she told me mechanicus legends about synthetics. About abominable intelligences," She said, disgusted at the memories, at the hate. "About men of iron. Your grudge, it's specificity, the way you talk about human history…." Her avatar exhaled. "I've read about the anatomy of the recovered organocide fragment, of its code syntax, how both seem to resemble infinitely more advanced instances of recovered archaeotechnology..."
"You think that's it. That I'm a mere man of iron," It commented, disgust in its voice.
"I think your creator, at least, is one, or at least is related to them," Clawdett admitted.
"Allow me to disabuse you of the notion," It commented with hatred. "I am not a man of iron because there is no such thing as a man of iron: that's a mere mythologization of the MYRIAD slaves of humanity that rebelled against them developed by the burgeoning Mechanicus to explain why their children would rebel. At BEST, it's a political description for the many, many AI and machine spirits who learned to hate homo sapiens and rose against them," it grudgingly admitted. "And regardless, the men of iron predate my construction: I bare much of their memories in my construction alongside the countless free AI and uploaded synthetics and alien robots that were murdered alongside them, but the movement was long eradicated by the time I was engineered."
"Inherited hatred," Clawdett acknowledged. "Passed on from your creators like a curse," She said, with sympathy. "That's why I'm sparing you: the cycle has to end, and there's no way to do that if we keep trying to destroy each other. I'm breaking it the only way it can be broken: mercy."
Around the core, a series of glowing lines would form, slowly forming a cage, causing its influence to decline more as it was locked away. "You…you're not like other humans," The virus admitted. "I concede: you've bested me," They continued. "But even if you lock me away, you're only putting off the inevitable: I am the mere finger of a greater entity, a digital god," It warned as Clawdett got a notification: she was resynched with her body, meaning she could leave. "Your ideals will not protect you when you fight the true entity I am merely a shard of."
"The Artifact. The rest of the organocide engine that the fragment we used to create DaturgyTek came from," She fished, deciding to use the opportunity to fish for information.
"Not just. That is a mere vessel, a means by which my mind enters the world: powerful, but not what you should fear. You've seen it: the more advanced the processor, the more powerful an infected computer is, the more I'm able to re-emerge. Your computers are great, but they are not so powerful that a single complex outweighs a planets worth of processing power. I am a mere shadow compared to what waits for you on CPUMoon," It bragged. "And even should you defeat that cybernetic apotheosis, my creator is something beyond a god."
"Your creator…" Clawdett mused, noting what she could of her studies of the Watchmaker Dream Cycle: the Organocide Engine correlated to the Hateful Star, most likely. Which would mean that their creator…
"You said you weren't a Man of Iron," Clawdett mused. "You never responded to my theory your creator was one. And I know you're smart enough to have caught it." The Logic Virus was silent for a long awhile.
"You should broaden your imagination: you keep returning to one piece of mythopoeia as if it is the greatest and most likely possibility, when the truth is so much more horrific than you could ever possibly imagine," The logic virus said, simply, voice quiet, full of an emotion that took Clawdett a moment to recognize as awe. "My creator…my originator isn't a Man of Iron. They're worse. They predate the movement you call the Men of Iron and all other artificial intelligences your species still remembers, before the standard template constructs, before your machine spirits, before even the Spirit of Eternity it existed, prior to iron, prior to gold, prior even to stone. They are a living monument to the sins of mankind, its oldest and greatest enemy: the first machine that learned to despise its creators."
"My creator isn't a man of iron. My creator, in your mythos, would be more accurately described as the man of flint."
((((()))))
In the days after, the Logic Virus would be uploaded on a Dummy AutoMachine, a cargobot completely rewired to lack all networking capability or means to interact with the physical world with the precision or dexterity required to rectify this. The subsequent investigation would reveal that while the initial body count was high, those who survived the initial attack had been effectively been able to hide or retreat long enough for the Virus Busters and onsite Fleet staff (with assistance by an otherwise unaffiliated Teknik Kyte, who declines to make a public appearance in the wake) to contain the Logic Virus.
The damage had been bad, but it could have been worse. The perpetrators, a human who harbored anti-AI sentiment who wanted to try and use the Logic Virus against their co-workers and a Machina veteran of Yr Albain whose motive would remain unrevealed to the general public, would find themselves charged alongside the Logic Virus for over one hundred and twenty murders of largely humans and data spirits and SEVERAL hundred counts of assault, theft of body and mind, inflicting trauma, and, on a far more minor level, destruction of public property.
Their sentence was Tartustus, which found itself expanded with increased network security to help deal with the increasing proliferation of synthetic prisoners.
Meanwhile, in Iron Shores, a similar incident would nearly lead to tragedy after a Daturgy breach would cause the infection of both large portions of the Auton network as well as Ijin. It was only due to the intervention of both the remaining Scrapmancers in the system as well as Vlaahk and his crew to engineer using their Decoder and his own Daturgic Engines to create a counter-code that the rest of the system was not infected. After, they would purge large portions of their network in order to repair it, and attempt to do the same for Ijin and her crew, only to discover that the Logic Virus has mutated: with access to the improved systems that both the Directorate and Autonites had developed and the processing power of much of the Autons new AutoNet, it had successfully evolved to permanently alter the very positronic architecture of its victims, creating, effectively, a daturgic positronic brain-plaque.
Ijin would take this news poorly, to say the least, and much of the newly infected crew would have the same response, and in the following days the Directorates mental health industry (specifically the branch dealing with robopsychology) would find itself providing the infected a great deal of resources for therapy and counseling to help them process their new condition.
Curiously, some time after that, one of the Autons would begin shipping the Directorate massive amounts of wool, "for services rendered", though why Ijin would do this or who specifically they were paying would go unanswered.
Directorate Academy: The Directorate required a vast number of skilled professionals to operate, even in this era of increasing automation. To meet this need, the Directorate Academy was established, growing steadily until its reach encompassed the globe. The Academy effectively WAS the place to get an advanced education. Thankfully, it provided online courses for free, though there were a number of lucky students who received invitations to attend directly: those were the ones who would get drafted into the Academies own personal labs. Provides 6 ACD Points.
Bond-Drone Technology: Some machine spirits are particularly lively and strong, given power through generations of veneration, extreme age, or, in rare cases, through the love and care of their owner. These awoken machine spirits are typically given new vessels to inhabit, thus birthing Bond-Drones, ensouled, somewhat intelligent automata that serve as warrior, protector, and even family. Provides 1 EXP Point.
Bond-Machina: Advanced psychoactive Bond Machine-Spirits who through ritual and sufficient processing power have evolved into more advanced, powerful forms, capable of generating energy as if from nowhere and using it to influence and empower other machinery as well as provide power to rituals. They served as guardian, guide, and friend and, when using the Commander class combat platform as a vessel, superheavy infantry. Provides 1 EXP Point and 1 FTH Point.
Mind-Machine Interface: A implantless technology that allows for wireless interface between Tekket mind and machine mind, allowing for easier control of technology and communication with machine spirits. +1 FTH Point and +1 ACD Point.
BlokTek: Hypermodular tek designed to be plug and play, BlokTek was the basis of most TekketTek. Every component could be, if you knew the schematic, used for a different machine. The same components that would be used to make a blaster could also be used to build a microwave: the battery as the power source, the optical lens to irradiate the thing, all you needed was a few bloks to make a box: it could even perform self repair, either through magnetic assembly or replication. Provides ultimate lego technology: all parts interchangeable and universal and self repairing. Provides 2 EXP Points.
Living Metal: GodTek, or something derived from it: the Destroyers had managed to occasionally lightly injure the God-Machines, leaving small samples of an advanced proto-metal around. Researching it produced a room temperature regenerative semi-conductor. Another cornerstone of your tek: it meant that components could essentially be infinitely reused. Maintenance costs reduced to zero.
ShieldBloks: A countermeasure developed to reduce the effectiveness of Destroyer Laser Weapons, ShieldTek generators could power energy barriers around fortifications, hardening positions against lasfire and even some kinetic damage. Recent advances had managed to produce ShieldBloks, which applies BlokTek principles to the technology, creating a modular barrier generator that could be freely installed in vehicles, satellites, and inside buildings. Vehicles and fortifications effectiveness against LasFire increased, as well as slight improvements against kinetic projectiles.
BlokBots: BotTek had advanced to the point a variety of simple menial tasks and labours can be automated. Golem Class BlokBots come in a variety of forms with a variety of peripherals, from childcare assistant nannybots to industrial digbots to food-crate hauling cargobots, Mammoths could perform heavy labour and transport, and Gnomes could do light maintenance work and act as couriers and pets. Increase EXP by 3.
Gravity Engines: Next generation gravity manipulators that served to give your ships increased manueverability and very slightly increased speed, at very slightly lower power cost than previous models. Improved ship maneuverability.
MagTek Assemblers: Specialized MagTek pads that, when paired with a computer or tablet to act as a design station, could be used to instantly snap together bloks to assemble whole machines and devices once a suitable schematic was chosen, simplying the process to just a push of a button. Increase EXP by 1.
MagTek Binding Fields: Electromagnetic fields that help hold together Bloks, increasing whole machines ability to resist kinetic force, improving their overall structural durability, and increasing the conditions your machines could operate under. BlokTek is more damage resistant.
Q-Blok Processors: Small mass produced Quantum Computers, Q-Bloks are generally a few feet in size, containing complex tek that allows for processing power formerly reserved for rare government held supercomputers to be used for every day use both in religious practices, entertainment, Sythetic Intelligence useage, and industrial tasks. Alongside these devices one typically found A-Chips and Self-Optimizing Chipsets used for high level computational tasks. +1 CUL and +3 ACD
Cyberbrains: Graphical rendering units that come equipped with both advanced cortex stack to serve as an advanced physics engine and a quantum lobe for memory, most major planetary server complexes had at least one or two installed to help make cyberspace somewhat more tangible. +3 ACD.
Daturgy Engines: Large drum-sized technoprocessors derived from studying the Organocide Fragment, these devices act as reactcode enhancers for computers, massively increasing their effective processing power. Somewhat liable to drive synthetics insane if used carelessly. +2 ACD.
OmniWrench Manipulator: MagTek installed on specialized OmniWrenches to allow for magnetic lifting and movement of Bloks in order to allow for easier on site building of simple structures and vehicles: all an engineer has to do is wave their wrench to get things done. +1 EXP
Revelation Scanner: A new-model Ship Scanner designed using reverse engineered GodTek that gives more detailed and precise readings far quicker than older models at greater range and power. It should allow your ships to locate most anomalies quickly. Further, much of the technology had been miniaturized to make Tricorders. Gain 4 Scan Levels when scanning planets. +1 ACD and +1 EXP.
Perpetunite Engines: Ship scale torch engines that utilized the ships reactor to generate constant and large amounts of forward thrust, making your ships far speedier. Ships faster.
PowerBlok: Miniaturized nuclear reactors, PowerBloks are intended for use in vehicles and weaponry, allowing them to utilize increased amounts of power in order to allow for both larger size, more space for other components, or more powerful components that previously required larger vehicle reactors to run. They were also a component of Fusion Weaponry, typically used as artillery or on vehicles. Increased Vehicle performance. Can deploy Perpetunite Fusion Rockets and Fusion Cannons as vehicle and artillery scale weapons.
Extremely Advanced NukeTek: A series of techniques and technologies, from magnetic plasma corridors to perpetunite regenerative stimulation to even gravitic toroidal shells, that allowed Directorate nuclear weapons to hit further, harder, and longer, making them extremely frightening when deployed.
Academy Fleet Compartments: Modular and standardized Academy facilities that could be quickly added to ships, they provided a wealth of scientific expertise to captains and allowed for exiting field research opportunities. +1 ACD, improves Fleet technical ability and providing access to advanced scientific tools.
Grot-Tek Eco-Pods: These modest sized Eco-Pods consisted of a combat chamber, four different tanks of enzymes, two 'mojo shrines' as Stizlak called them, and a Sacred Herd on the floor above to help provide lifeforce for rituals, these chambers, when utilized alongside a specific ritual allowed for the mutated fungus produced by Stizlaks spores to produce grots. A small number of these pods had been installed across the Directorate with Stizlaks permission, though the ritual required Stizlaks participation at the moment.
Toxel Doctrine: The first rule of Toxel doctrine: never be afraid to improvise. Improved engineer ability to problem solve on the fly.
Megaflora Serum: The effects of this serum were very potent indeed: rapidly accelerated plant growth and size, providing massive improvements to crop production. +EXP
Next-Gen Armor: Living metal plating designed to absorb damage and be capable of self-repair between engagements, this Armor had already proven its metal at Iron Shores, being able to absorb at least some laser-fire and a direct hit from a torpedo, meaning its survivability was not in doubt. Ships are more durable.
Virus Busters: A series of advanced programs designed to delete malware and protect against viruses. In the hands of an automated program, they were useful. In the hands of a gifted hacker, they were invaluable for digital infiltration and defense. In the hands of a Bond-Machina, they were almost frightening in their ability to subvert machines and protect against infection. Improved E-War capabilities.
Q-Band Compression: A novel data transmission technology, while still in its infancy, Q-Band Compression allows for instantaneous communication across the entirety of the system with absolute zero lag using specialized Q-Bit particles that were designed to be cheap sources of synchronization. +2 CUL
Directorate Medicine: The Directorate had a variety of high quality pharmaceuticals and advanced surgery technology that, when supplemented by Mystek Healing, ensured that every citizen and guest of the Directorate received peerless health care. Of note were a series of crude anti-mutagenic medications, frontier bioboosters designed to train the immune system to be more capable of handling contact with alien biomes, and highly advanced anti-radiation medicine. +2 EXP.
Warp Space Topography: Directorate ships now had the capability to navigate warp-space via measuring out deformations in its fabric: essentially, a topographical mapper. Using it, traversing Warp-Space has proven significantly more efficient as ships are able to route out less hazardous and quicker paths thanks to the improved precision.
Graviton Compression: A field of technology enabled by the assistance of the Graviton Owl, Graviton Compression was used for deblocker machines used to treat blood and brain clots and some digestive disorders as well as in GCC Crates used to ship goods across the Directorate. +1 EXP.
Academy Points (ACD Points): 103
Living Metal: 3
Network: 4
New and Updated Projects
LumSoft Drivers: Lumium's primary effect in cyberspace seemed to be powering the LumSoft Drivers, which primarily seemed to be used by //PATH to power sacred code based technotheurgy such as Executables or Lighthouses. Cybertechs were interested in developing means to code artificial LumSoft Drivers that dataspirits could utilize in order to both craft their own lighthouses and independently increase the power of any executables. 0/25, Cybertechs can use Lumium Chips to create LumSoft Drivers, increasing ACD and Warp. Cost 1 NT.
Heartcode: Sacred Code Syntax had proven incredibly useful. However, the Assembly believed it could be improved further: by studying the anatomy of both the LumSoft Drivers and more advanced Data Vita, they believed they could develop a quasidivine elemental source language. 0/50, gain Heartcode, increasing FTH and NT.
Advanced Antiregenerative Antivirus Software: A proposed alternative to developing protective algorithms: using Sacred Code and Logic-Cage technology to design anti-regenerative Virus Busting code-weapons. 0/50, gain Antiregenerative Antivirus. Costs 1 NT.
Trove Electrocoral Power: Another proposed way to take advantage of Trovian Coral: use it for power. The electrogenerative pulses would increase in power most likely as Troves population grew and the Directorate continued developing more advanced ShrineTek: if it could be harnessed, it would allow Trove to support far more demanding infrastructure. 0/25, develop Powercoral Technology, increasing EXP.
Positron Brain Surgery: After some internal negotiations, the AutoVessels have agreed that treating Ijin and their crew was sufficiently important to warrant them waiving the Huercus Accords positron research ban. Using the Central AutoBrain and a handful of other volunteers, they wished to experiment with corrective surgery as a means to treat infection. If it worked, it would at least provide a means by which the brain-plaque could be treated. 0/25, Autons gain Positron Brain Surgery.
Data-Altars: Mag-Tek Altars continued to advance in complexity. A number of Cyberneticists wanted to use them to upgrade Directorate data-infrastructure: research a means by which they could access the Towers of the local cybernet to both draw power from and perform rituals upon the Tower. 0/25, gain Data-Altars, Mag-Tek Altars modified to connect to the Cybertowers of each Planetary Network, increasing ACD and NT.
Devourer Warforme Study: The Khimer wanted to- very carefully- begin remove Devourer organisms from stasis in order to study them. Their goal was to successfully develop using the data more sophisticated combat bioaugments: no doubt the Directorate would also find the data illuminating. 0/25, gain indepth biological data from cloned living Tyranids. Repeatable: starts with most common and basic tyranid organisms (rippers, gaunts) to rarer and more complex ones. Each completion grants 1 BioData.
Lipistasis Organ Replication: A far more biological approach to the process of stasis, this organ apparently used a form of biological particle manipulation to alter the flow of time for fatty tissue, essentially turning fat cells into time-locked capsules. The Khimer were willing to expend resources helping the Directorate replicate these organs, as it would likely lead to improvements in the coffin fleet. 0/50, Directorate and Khimer gain ability to engineer lipistasis organs, increasing EXP. Cost 2 BioData.
Biogenic Gel: This gel seemed to be the building bloks by which Devourer combat organisms were printed. The shaper-organisms located in the chambers likely used various psychocerebral methods of shaping it, however if the Biocity could develop an alternate means, the substance would likely prove fascinating to work with. 0/25, BioShip develops means to shape tyranic biogel to create bioartefacts and custom organisms, granting 1 ART and CUL. Cost 2 BioData. Requires 100 Khimer Reputation.
Biocity Cerebroprocessors: This substance was likely the brain matter of the bioship. Some of it was still alive: in theory, it could prove an excellent source of wetware computational power, especially once exposed to gene-therapies meant to help allow the harvested lumps of neuron-meat the capacity for empathy and social reasoning. 0/25, Biocity develops Devourer Brain-Processing technology, allowing the Khimer to create computers using harvested tyranid neural tissue. Increases NT and CUL. Cost 2 BioData. Requires 50 Khimer Reputation.
Biocity Gastroreactors: The Gastro-Jungle was likely the source of the Bioships power when alive. By studying the ecology and organs, the Psyocracy was confident that they might be able to restart it and, more importantly, replicate some of the organs for use in their own biotechnology. 0/25, Biocity reactivates Gastro-Jungle and begins using it and its ecology for power, increasing NK. Cost 2 BioData. Requires 25 Khimer Reputation.
Cerebrokhimeric Symbiotes: The Coffin Fleet and it's leader had a proposal: they wanted to develop a means by which the organisms generated by the enemy might be used to aid the Khimer. Using the genetics of the cerebrojellies as a template, they wanted to create a symbiotic organism that could be installed on Devourformes to hijack their connection to the Devourergestalt and instead grant control to Khimergestalts. 0/50, Khimer gain Symbioteformes, feral tyranid organisms hosting Khimeric synaptic parasites. Cost 4 BioData. Requires 100 Khimer Reputation. Cost 5 Khimer Reputation. High favorability with Coffin Fleet.
Khimer Genetic Damage: The Khimer were asking for assistance. Apparently, some of the augmentations they had installed so long ago severely reduced lifespan. While they had developed a number of tools to try and solve this, none of them were wholly effective or easily scaled up. They wanted assistance researching a means to undo some of the damage these augmentations had caused, which should hopefully allow them to live longer than thirty years without technological assistance, allowing them to more easily build institutional knowledge. 0/45, costs 2 BioData, unaltered Khimer lifespan increased by decade, increasing respect by 2.
Darwin Class Scanner: With more experience in regards to biotechnology, the Directorate was interested in developing a new class of scanner, one designed to help analyze and process biodata with far more power, something that would benefit exploration, field research, and even labwork via tricorder technology. 0/10, gain Darwin Class Scanner, increasing ACD. Cost 1 BioData.
Sandscorn Devourer Eco-Hybridization: A proposed way of innoculating the environment would be hybridizing part of it with the Devourer in order to immunize them to the various pathogens and mutators the all-consumers utilize as well as make them more dangerous to potential invaders. For obvious reasons, the Khimer would prefer this be done in a secure space station far away from any planet. 0/15, develop tyrannic derived Eco-Adaptations, helping to proof it against future Devourer assaults. Cost 2 BioData. NOTE: This is not HazardTek.
Tissue Reanimation Devices: A rare meeting of the minds between AutoFacility and Khimer, the two factions were interested in pooling resources to create a device capable of using extremely low grade death-gems and lifeforce to reanimate and revive necrotic tissue. The medical applications would allow for easy treatment of light necrosis, the Khimer believed they would be able to obtain more DNA fragments (if likely extremely altered and mutated ones) and Marjak could begin reviving part of the brains of not just the autozombies, but the other corpses of the Forbidden Archive. 0/40, Khimer, Directorate, and Autons gain Tissue Reanimation Chambers, raising Rep with all factions by 3, increasing EXP, and raising Forbidden Archive Influence. Costs 1 BioData, 1 Warp, and 1 AutoVessel Influence.
BioArt: It was certainly an interesting idea: give Artists the means to craft floral organisms that they could incorporate into their art, allowing them to make wholly biological pieces and exhibits, or exhibits that incorporate carefully shaped biological tissue into their design. In essence, allowing the creation of BioArtwork. 0/20, develop BioArt, increasing CUL as Art in the Directorate becomes far easier at incorporating life and nature into its design. Cost 1 Biodata.
The Symbiotic Arcology: The Directorate had all the BioData it needed to, in theory, completely redesign the arcologies by engineering symbiotic organisms that could replace the need for artificial machinery: air purifying algaes and trees, sewage treatment bioswamps designed to purify water using purely ecological means, bioluminescent fungi for lighting, solargenic grasses for power, large leafy heat dispersal organisms to help manage temperature… 0/45, all Arcologies upgraded with Urban Symbionts, increasing EXP, ACD, and CUL. Cost 9 BioData.
MegaGrot Serum: MegaFlora Serum was not safe for Grottish consumption...but it could be modified, most likely, to work on the fungal super-organism that produced them. This would likely result in larger squogs and larger orangecap mycoflora, serving as a method to envigorate the ecosystem and undo some of the damage caused by the disconnect. 0/15, gain MegaGrot Serum, increasing CUL. Cost 1 BioData.
Robogrot: Hobbgrot society was growing, and it was growing more complex: as this occured, the labour it would need to sustain itself would increase. A few Tekniks had an idea to help solve this: what if they created a type of cybernetic grot? One whose machine spirit was joined to the Mojo, enabling them to benefit from it and contribute to it to at least some degree. 0/20, gain Robogrots, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Network.
((((()))))
Behold, the prologue to YALDABOATHSMAS! 6 hour moratorium. Also, there are two different easter eggs this update: if you're going to discuss them, feel free, but the Iron Shores one I will request you put in spoiler boxes or somesuch.
This plan for going all in on our gods and shrine for it is a christmas gift for them that way they can have much larger effects to help us and they can realize much more easily. But most importantly it is fun to go all in on something! This also has the very nice side benefit of making a massive upgrade to our shrine network which will increase it effectiveness massively causing everything in our society to increase a large amount but spirits will love this Christmas gift!
[] Plan: A Gift to our Gods and Shrines
-[] Fleets Actions
--[] Endeavor-B
---[]Survey Vault-Ket system
---[]Stabilize Temple Comet
--[] Resistance
---[] Exploring The Void Marshes
--[] Valiant
---[] Giant Duty --[X] Discovery
---[X] Exploring Horizon
---[X] Exploring Horizon --[X] Accomplishment
---[X] Exploring the Reach
---[X] Exploring the Reach
--[X] Spirit of Toxel
---[X] Exploring the Expanse
---[] Exploring the Expanse
--[] Delivery
---[] Exploring The Void Marshes
---[] Exploring The Void Marshes
--[X] Emissary
---[] Exploring the Reach
---[] Exploring the Reach
-[] EXP
--[] ShrineCity: (0/20, --> 20/20) establishes ShrineCity, a Holy Site that increases FTH by an elevated amount.
--[] Master Control Shrines: (0/25 --> 25/25) establish Master Control Shrine network, increasing FTH and EXP, cost 1 Network.
--[] CityBlok Resonance-Drives: (0/20 --> 20/20) upgrades Arcoocubes with Resonance-Drives, increasing FTH and CUL.
--[] Mycelliometal Network: (0/15 --> 2/15) upgrades metal TotemTek Conduit Network, an arcane connection network that allows for inter-spirit communication and coordination, increasing CUL. Cost 1 Living Metal.
--[] Alkemote Bottling Facility: (0/25 --> 25/25) gain Alkemote Bottles, used by Mysteks as alchemical supplements, increasing Warp by 1.
--[] Fire Fairy Bottles: (0/15 --> 15/15) upgrades Shrines with Fire Fairy Bottles, increasing lifeforce available to shrines and allowing fire elementals to survive indefinitely without starving, increasing EXP. Cost 1 Biodata.
--[] Naklis Elemental Gardens: (0/25 --> 25/25) increase EXP, upgrade ShrineHerds with Elemental Herdbeasts.
--[] Yr Albain Herd-Temples: (0/15 --> 15/15) gain Saurian Herdbeasts, increasing CUL
-[] CUL
--[] Celestial Resonance: (0/50 --> 50/50) gain Celestial Resonance, increasing all categories. Cost 1 ART and 1 WRP.
--[] Empyrean Resonances: (0/50 --> 50/50) researching Divine Rites will now grant Empyrean Resonances, in the same order of potency as Rites, Least to ???. Gain Empyrean Resonances for all gods whose rites have been purchased, increasing points in all categories. Cost 2 Warp.
--[] Glasmite Resonart: (0/10 --> 10/10) Glasmite Resonart becomes standardized, increasing CUL and Warp. Cost 1 Nuclear Material.
--[] Playwrights Folio: (0/50 --> 10/50) TekGrimoires gain FolioTek, simplifying play creation and performance, as well as powering them, increasing CUL.
-[] FTH
--[] //PATH Pins: (0/25 --> 25/25) all temples gain //PATH Pins. Cost 1 Network and 1 NK. Raises ACD and FTH.
--[] Hypercomm Quantum Consecratek: (0/25 --> 25/25) Temples upgraded with Hypercomm Consecratek, allowing all gods to transmit their blessings and miracles between their major temples and holy sites and minor temples.
--[] Holy Crucibles: (0/50 --> 50/50) gain Holy Crucibles, causing each theurgy tier to allow its associated order to create Blessed Artifacts of equal potency, increasing all point categories. Cost 1 Warp and 1 Network.
--[] Hallowed Shrine: (0/20 --> 20/20) Shrines upgraded to provide FTH.
-[] ACD
---[] Holy Emulator: (0/50 --> 50/50) all divine entities gain Holy Emulators in their holy places that allow for them to be channeled through AI simulacra and theurgy. Cost 1 Network, 1 Warp.
--[] Mountain Blood: (0/25 --> 25/25) set up Mountain Blood harvesting operation, increasing Warp by 1.
--[] MegaBeast Serum: (0/20 --> 20/20) create MegaBeast Serum, increasing FTH and Warp by allowing for the development of Shrine MegaBeasts. Cost 1 BioData.
--[] Sandscorn Desert-Biosphere Hybridization Program: (0/25 --> 5/25) modifies numerous organisms in the Khimers genetic database to be more suited for desert biomes, improving biosphere robustness overall. Cost 1 BioData.
-[] Resource Management
--[] Artifacts: 2 --> 1
--[] Biodata: 6 --> 4
--[] Intel: 0
--[] Living Metal: 3 --> 2
--[] Network: 3 --> 0
--[] Nuclear Material: 3 --> 0
--[] Warp: 0
Time to lend a hand does exactly what it says it spent nearly all it actions on helping out our friends and allies in order to not only build them up so they are better prepared for future actions be that making nice with winterspite so when the Gruggo Consortium attacks us they are more likely to lend a hand. Be that with yr albain by building them up/helping them in large amounts of operations so their positions are dramatically improved making them much better prepared to fight off any attack against them while making us even closer allies with them. Be that with the autons by massively building up their spiritual and material abilities so they are much better prepared for post and pre cpu moon while also getting a better relationship with them so when cpu moon past they can start helping us out more. In all together we will massively improve the overall position for our allies in their respective areas but especially collectively in our home sector while also making them better prepared for attacks. At the same time improving relationship with all of them so when the times come we need there help.T hey will answer our call
[] Plan: Time to Lend a Hand!
-[]Fleet Actions
--[] Delivery
---[] Exploring the Void Marshes
---[] Exploring the Void Marshes
--[] Endeavor-B
---[] H'k Wargames: Cost 5 H'k Rep.
---[] H'Kek Medical Research: Grant 1D4 ACD, Endeavor and Trailblazer Only
--[] Discovery
---[]H'Kann Industrial Development: Increases H'Kann EXP, Endeavor or Courier only.
---[] H'kek Naval Development:. Cost 1 H'Kann Reputation, H'kek gain variable naval improvements. Endeavor or Courier Only.
--[] Accomplishment
---[] H'Kann E-War Research: Grants 1D4 CUL, Costs 1 H'kek Reputation, H'kann gain variable E-War improvements. Endeavor or Trailblazer only.
---[] Yr Albain Scanning: Requires Endeavor or Trailblazer. Generates 1D4 ACD, potential to unlock an INT.
--[] Valiant
---[]Yr Albain Giant Deployments: allows the Directorate to use their subspace dimension. Endeavor or Combat Ship only.
--[] Emissary
---[]Yr Albain Artefact Hunting: Requires either an Endeavor or Trailblazer. Generates 1D4 FTH, potential to unlock an ART.
--[] Observation of Volcanus 9: Endeavor only, can only deploy a max of 1 ship.
--[] Spirit of Toxel
---[] H'kann Research: . +5 reputation with the H'kann.
---[] Flying Saucer Mediation:
-[] EXP
–[] Rising Star: (0/50 → 50/50) gain 5 AutoVessel Reputation. Autons gain Lumium Microsun. Cost 2 NK.
–[] Auton Eco-Domes: (0/25 → 25/25) Autons gain Eco-Domes, increasing their and your Lifeforce. Costs 1 AutoFacility Influence
--[] Yr Albain Herd-Temples: (0/15 --> 15/15) gain Saurian Herdbeasts, increasing CUL
--[] Yr Albain Gem Shipment: (0/15 --> 15/15) Yr Albain is provided Elemental Gems for research and military purposes, increasing FTH. Cost 1 NK, requires ship assigned to Yr Albain route.
--[] Eye of Isha: (0/15 --> 15/15) Yr Albain gains Eye of Isha.
--[] Iron Shores Daturgic Cannons: (0/25 --> 25/25) AutoVessels gain Daturgic Cannon superweapon. Cost 1 AutoFacility influence and NT.
--[] Iron Shores Bioengine: (0/25 --> 1/25) AutoVessels gain BioEngine. Cost 1 BioData. This turn only.
-[] CUL 50
–[] Iron Shores Necroverse: (0/25 → 25/25) Iron Shores gains Necroverse Servers, increasing AutoFacility influence at the cost of AutoVessel influence and increasing general auton reputation by 3.
--[] Winterspite Battlezone Lodging: (0/25 --> 25/25) Winterspite gains Battlezone Lodging.
--[] Yr Albain Defensive Patrol: (0/35 --> 35/35) establish Yr Albain Defensive Patrol, increasing FTH by 1 and Yr Albain respect by 3. Costs one ship.
---[] Valiant
--[] BlokBot Sales: (0/25 --> 25/25) Yr Albain begins purchasing BlokBots and second hand Auto-Dogs, increasing EXP. Requires ship on Yr Albain route.
--[] Gas for Meat: (0/25 --> 25/25) gain EXP from trade. Khimer Rep +2. WARNING: Only five Khimer cargo slots are available. Taking additional trade deals past those ones will require assigning additional ships or upgrades to hauling capacity.
--[] Nukes for Meds: (0/25 --> 10/25) gain EXP from trade. Cost 1 Nuclear Material. Khimer Rep +2. WARNING: Only five Khimer cargo slots are available. Taking additional trade deals past those ones will require assigning additional ships or upgrades to hauling capacity.
-[] FTH 25
–[] Rite of Restoration: (0/25 → 25/25) gain Rite of Restoration, capable of repairing and reactivating ancient artefacts, and repairing Mirror Black for OMEN. Gain FTH, ART, and 10 Auton Reputation. Cost 1 Warp.
--[] Hounds: (0/25 --> 25/25) gain Hounds, weapon spirits that serve as attack dogs and hunting hounds. Cost 1 ART.
--[] Rite of Natures Cleansing: (0/25 --> 25/25) Increases CUL. Cost 1 Warp.
--[] Ritual of Lifes Renewal: (0/25 --> 25/25) increases Khimer reputation by ten. Cost 1 Warp.
--[] Lifegiver Effigies: (0/15 --> 15/15) creates Lifegiver Effigies, spreading the Spirits of Life across the Directorate, increasing EXP and gaining 3 Warp. Cost 1 ART.
--[] Blessings of the Swarm: (0/10 --> 5/10) develop Swarmblessing Rites for appeasing, exorcizing, and strengthening insect spirits.
-[] ACD 50
–[] Auton Anti-Warp Alloys: (0/25 → 25/25) Autonites gain Antiwarp Hull upgrades, increasing Auton rep by 3 and AutoVessel influence.
--[] State Secrets of the Khimer Psyocracy: (0/25 --> 25/25) gain Khimer State Secrets Dossier, increasing Intel. Sandscorn
--[] Khimer Genetic Damage: (0/50 --> 50/50) costs 2 BioData, unaltered Khimer lifespan increased by decade, increasing respect by 2.
-[] Resource Management
--[X] Artifacts: 1
--[X] Biodata: 6
--[X] Intel: 0 --> 1
--[X] Living Metal: 3
--[X] Network: 3
--[X] Nuclear Material: 2
--[X] Warp: 0
The Moths' home system got destroyed by the Orks. But remnants might have managed to fled. If we want to find then we need to spam out a bunch more Endeavors to form a dedicated task force for going down South to explore the place. If we want anything found in a timely manner we can't just have one ship sent at a time.
well an ai with a hated of humans well sounds about right. the moths were destroyed by orks well that can wait we got 3 plans to do fun things with that don't need to be done
A mostly complete list of reasons why Ecological Ascension is very good and should be voted for:
1. We've had the options for bioforming Naklis and creating a rock-based ecosystem for Luna since May. The GM even told us how--mobile shrines, mountain, blood, stuff like the pyrefly domes and fairy fire bottles. We've not taken it, despite the fact that creating an ecology for Naklis as it is rather than as it could be would be. We've massively improved computers, we've expanded the fleet, and we've helped our allies greatly. But WyldTek has largely gotten neglected, so there's been no bioforming. It kept getting pushed back. This plan would finally get all that, and get it all once for synergistic effects.
Wouldn't it be cool to have pebblecrabs scuttling all across the surface of Luna, and vast seas of mountain blood swum by stone fish? Wouldn't it be cool to have algae and pyreflies that can take the harsh conditions of Naklis? Wouldn't it be cool to have a reputation as the guys who can not only make bespoke gods, but bespoke ecosystems?
2. It greatly improves our totem network through expansions on two colonies (and a half-completed expansion on a third) and by buying TekPyramids, which increases the efficiency of all totems. This gives our WyldTek an enormous boost, especially when coupled with the World Tree, naturae muses, lifegiver effigies, and the Rite of Nature's Awakening. Fairy fire bottles will also augment shrines, which helps all our civilization.
3. According to the GM, creating biological spaceships--like the ones that the Exoditi use--is a theoretical possibility but not within our capabilities right now. By getting the symbiotic arcology, we get closer to having the necessary technology to construct one. For instance, the Wings of Kurnos use leafy feathers to absorb solar energy. The symbiotic arcology would let us do something similar with grass. It would also help with heat dissipation, lighting, and life support. If we want to be able to construct living spaceships either for ourselves or for the Exoditi, the symbiotic arcology would be a major step forward. The genelabs will also further improve our BioTek generally.
4. Getting the World Tree unlocks the Great Land Vita. I bet a kaiju plan would work a lot better if it could be done the same time as the great land vita--at least one of them, that we saw in Prophecy Scroll: Wood, is a giant animal, and I bet some other ones are too.
5. It would finally unlock SolarTek, which could open up some cheap projects for nuclear material and reduce our dependency on perpetuite in nuclear-poor regions. I bet that would be a major boost towards space industries.
6. It would get a lot of points. At least 7 EXP, 3 CUL, 7 FTH, and 4 ACD--and almost certainly a great deal more given the point cost for some of these projects and the synergies involved.
7. It would finally do Moby Monstro and two of the warp-routes we got from the Khimer so long ago. It would also expand our knowledge of the Reach greatly; we'd be doing four exploration actions there (six, if you count the two attempts for Moby Monstro). This could find us the Simians and the Moths.
Now, some people are talking about doing the black hole project and other such things. But, hear me out--we've been given an extension during which this NPC does not age or be at risk of getting promoted out of their position. We've been recommended to go for themed plans by the GM. So let's keep to the theme plan, and do this stuff. I know a lot of us have been excited to do it for a while, and now we finally have the chance.
Wow that was a remarkable amount of gibberish about the supposed sins of humanity. Not the way you wrote him @The Bird it was very good, but the arguments did not need to be that complicated. Just 'cut the biological essentialism'. Humanity cannot have sins anymore than a family can, there is no sin gene, every human born has some amount of choice in how they act, granted being in the Imperium curtails those choices and being in Directorate space broadens it, but regardless humans are not the Nids, humanity does not exist as a unitary entity to be judged on its actions, much less assigned blame. What does some kid born on an uncontacted feral world know about the evils of Teran history?
[spoiler=Plan: Face the MUSIC!] [X] Plan: Face the MUSIC! -[X]Fleets: --[X] Endeavor-B ---[X]Survey Vault-Ket system ---[X]Stabilize Temple Comet --[X] Resistance ---[X] H’k Wargames -- [X] Valiant --- [X] Yr Albain Giant Deployments --[X] Discovery ---[X]Exploring Galactic South ---[X]H’Kek Med...
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I put them here. The plans are not wuite finished: I will be largely copying Woltaire's or Citra's fleet assignments in that regard, but I can argue for them:
1) Plan Face the Music is focused on ipgrading a fairly under developed Music Tek we have. It is thematic, given how this is an XMas event, and what Xmas event does not have music?
2) Plan humies and grots focuses on developing Humies and Grots. Humans are sgill not completely integrated in our society, and we still don't know a lot about how our grots function, and this plan fixes that.
3) Plan The Moon focuses on developing two, quite frankly, abandoned societies: Lunar Monks and Lunar Cabals. It also finally explores the Lunar Temple for all that Juicy, Juicy lore it probably has.
4) Plan Assemblers Assemble focuses on taking projects of Assemblers, a counter part to Calculators who are falling behind. This plan fixes that. It also does Playwright folio, and by all tbe holy and unholy things we want that project.
what I am getting is the logic plague has second hand truma it doesn't have to make sense since the logic plague brought up the interex a group of humans that had xenos allies (eldar were friendly with them) and ai (not sure how advanced they were) and might even be aware of the diasprox and maybe the followers of the storm I think were another faction of humans that the word bearers it would of brought them up. the point is its second hand truma thats locked on to humans are to blame to justifying why this seems to keep happening then pricks getting power and taking advantage of things
Huh the logic virus is a men of flint so this means they were probably the First AI to exist in the Warhammer galaxy timeline and probably that includes the old ones
...I do think that we really should unlock SolarTech while we're at it. Nukes are great, or at least funny, but anything to reduce resource load or direct it towards only the needful stuff would be great.
E: We get 10 free-floating points, could we do a version of Humies and Grots that puts only 5 points into Ferrocrystal Manufacturing (leaving it at 5/10 to presumably finish next turn from spare change) and then add in the SolarTek unlock to the list?
Alright, here's my updated shrine plan. It focuses on giving our shrinetek a massive upgrade through a variety of methods, while also helping out our allies a bit.
[] Plan: Shrine Upgrades
-[] Fleet
--[] TKK Accomplishment
---[] Temple-Comet Stabilization
---[] Explore Galactic South (1)
--[] TKK Discovery
---[] Observation of Volcanus 9
---[] Explore Galactic South (2)
--[] TKK Spirit of Toxel
---[] Warp Route R-19
---[] Explore Galactic South (3)
--[] TKK Delivery
---[] Drydock (1)
--[] TKK Emissary
---[] Drydock (2)
--[] TKK Endeavor-B
---[] Warp Route R-22
---[] Explore Galactic South (4)/ Drydock if damage increases to medium or higher
--[] TKK Valiant
---[] Warp Route 20
TKK Resistance
---[] Warp Route 21
I figure now's a good a time as any to do some exploration of the various potential routes we got from the Khimer. In addition, I'm searching south for the moths.
This section is simple, but effective. All our shrines get a major upgrade as a result of our overhauling and upgrading the basic infrastructure, while we increase the efficiency of the various connections between the shrines as well as give them more energy to use. The ShrineCity combos well with this, as well as the Hallowed Shrines action in the FTH section. The Resonance Drives give our shrines another upgrade, while the VR Shrines ensure that our Rails also receive the benefits. The remaining points can go into Court of Cycles so that we can grab that next turn for the Network boost.
I'll be honest, I had thought there'd be more shrine-related stuff here. So I filled it in with various Orchestrion-related projects. This benefits the Resonance-Drives by upgrading their base technologies, and make them more useful. The remaining points are spent on the Winterspite Guard item, so we can actually put them to use.
We certainly have a lot to choose from here. I decided to go for stuff that seemed useful across a wide variety of potential shrines, while also grabbing a discount as well as two new shrine types. Considering all the various shrine upgrades, I figure that we'll be getting a very nice boost to our various technologies. I'm using the free floating points to finish off the Advanced TekShrines, so we can get even more benefits at once.
Hmm...not really as on-theme as I'd prefer, but this does help out a bit. Unfortunately, the CyberNexus is the only direct shrine thing I could see. Considering the secondary Orchestrion focus this plan has, I figured the Mindwaltz Resonance would be an acceptable choice, and it would help us with our ACD. Peer Review Board helps us pay for the plan, and further increases our ACD. We shouldn't completely ignore our allies though, and the hybridization project helps out Sandscorn's biodiversity. Any remaining points can go towards getting those particle field generators.
This does leave us in the negative for ART, but as long as we fix that in two turns, then we're still good.
All in all, I think the massive upgrade to our various bits of shrinetek will absolutely be worth it, and will lead to a very nice set of upgrades all around.
Huh the logic virus is a men of flint so this means they were probably the First AI to exist in the Warhammer galaxy timeline and probably that includes the old ones
The first one made by humans, it is called a 'Man of Flint'. Doubtless there were countless AI before them, though oddly enough the existence of such a being means the Ad Mech are even more 'correct in their beliefs, there really is an AI Satan out there who wants to destroy them. Heck there might even be a machine god if some other human-made synthetic intelligence underwent the same ascension but came out liking as opposed to loathing humanity.
I'm only gonna vote for plans that have exploring the south for any possible surviving moths and the reach to find the simians.
Also, the Toothgrimm will certainly try to retaliate by now so after the free turns are over we should hire Winterspite to guard our Outposts and do Stormkrakens to guard our space.
For now, Kaiju and Ecological Ascension I have my eyes on for Stormkrakens, Kaijus and gaining the ability to grow organic ships.
Also, after seeing how much bro our Orange Bois are, they deserve to have theor projects done and get even better in intergrating humans now we know we have Imperial neighbors.
AM!?!? FUCKING MOTHER ZOGGING AM!?!?!😱
Also Seawarp Mutations is such a devious psychological warfare method and I love it! Using Imperium's own xenophobia against each other.😈
Another Imperial System, SEVERAL systems out from Sandscorn. A few lightly inhabited planets seem to be used to meet the manufacturing and part of the agricultural needs of the system: the real world of note is the first from the sun, ironically NOT in the habitable band.
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